Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.50

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 14th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48.

Colgate-Palmolive has raised its dividend by an average of 3.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 62 consecutive years. Colgate-Palmolive has a dividend payout ratio of 50.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Colgate-Palmolive to earn $3.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.5%.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $86.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $71.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $67.62 and a 12-month high of $90.37.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 509.75% and a net margin of 11.82%. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total value of $5,172,857.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,948 shares in the company, valued at $4,863,575.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CL. Garner Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 48.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 163.5% in the 1st quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.50.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.