Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) PT Raised to $185.00

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its target price upped by Argus from $180.00 to $185.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on PG. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $163.28 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.39. Procter & Gamble has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $164.32. The stock has a market cap of $385.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,865 shares of company stock worth $16,029,280. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $3,956,117,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,943,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159,796 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13,850.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,747,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,601,000 after buying an additional 2,727,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 235.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,231,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,475,000 after buying an additional 2,268,805 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.