Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Price Target Raised to $170.00

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its target price raised by Barclays from $168.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

PG has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Procter & Gamble from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:PG opened at $162.55 on Tuesday. Procter & Gamble has a 52 week low of $141.45 and a 52 week high of $164.32. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $159.57 and its 200-day moving average is $153.39. The firm has a market cap of $383.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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. Insiders have sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.