The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Receives $169.76 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $169.76.

PG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $161.66 on Friday. Procter & Gamble has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $164.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $381.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $159.72 and a 200-day moving average of $153.78.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during 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%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $122,693.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 55,865 shares of company stock worth $9,009,280. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,313,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,616,000 after purchasing an additional 670,862 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,552,000 after acquiring an additional 206,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,629,299,000 after purchasing an additional 346,925 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.