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

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $169.76.

Several research firms have recently commented on PG. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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, UBS Group raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,865 shares of company stock worth $14,059,180 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dfpg Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 24,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,680,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 26,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,897,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.6% during the third quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 94,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,772,000 after buying an additional 12,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,003,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,298,184,000 after acquiring an additional 131,339 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $164.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $388.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.43. Procter & Gamble has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $164.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $159.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.04.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.69%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.