The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $180.53.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,812,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 11.2% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $167.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $392.21 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45. Procter & Gamble has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.17%.

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.