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

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 14th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 raised its dividend every year for the last 62 years. Colgate-Palmolive has a dividend payout ratio of 50.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:CL opened at $86.77 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.63. The company has a market cap of $71.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.42. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total transaction of $5,891,020.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at $24,161,117.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total transaction of $5,891,020.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 in the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $240,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $4,494,000. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $280,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 62.8% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 24,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,917,000 after purchasing an additional 9,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.