Analysts Set Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) PT at $161.55

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $161.55.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $146.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $149.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, August 24th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $149.00 target price (down from $182.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG opened at $147.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $342.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $146.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.34. Procter & Gamble has a 52 week low of $137.62 and a 52 week high of $167.25.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.38 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 31.36% and a net margin of 18.44%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.890-7.110 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0885 per share. This represents a $4.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Susan Whaley sold 2,238 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.79, for a total transaction of $321,802.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 26,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,880,748.31. The trade was a 7.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Marc Pritchard sold 4,030 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.79, for a total value of $579,473.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 187,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,888,873.79. This trade represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,627 shares of company stock worth $953,417. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth approximately $27,862,105,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,216,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,988,999,000 after buying an additional 965,461 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 62,647,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,962,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,556 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $4,664,783,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,850,628,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Company is a global consumer products company that develops, manufactures and markets branded products used in households and personal care. Its portfolio spans beauty, grooming, health care, fabric and home care, and family care products.

The company’s brands include Tide, Ariel, Downy, Dawn, Febreze, Bounty, Charmin, Pampers, Gillette, Oral-B, Crest, Head & Shoulders, Olay and Pantene. These products are sold through retailers, e-commerce platforms and other distribution channels.

Procter & Gamble was founded in Cincinnati in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble.