Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Price Target Raised to $159.00

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its target price increased by Barclays from $155.00 to $159.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

PG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $164.41 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.34. Procter & Gamble has a 52-week low of $152.06 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The firm has a market cap of $387.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.