Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $92.70, but opened at $95.49. Colgate-Palmolive shares last traded at $92.93, with a volume of 1,336,929 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,391,261,000 after buying an additional 588,230 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,868,723,000 after buying an additional 324,683 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at $912,375,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,497,819 shares of the company's stock worth $863,447,000 after buying an additional 993,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $806,015,000 after buying an additional 1,040,604 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.5 %

The business's 50 day moving average price is $91.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.27. The firm has a market cap of $75.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.44, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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.

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