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

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $177.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays cut Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 30th.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

PG stock opened at $168.22 on Friday. Procter & Gamble has a twelve month low of $142.50 and a twelve month high of $177.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $396.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.46.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Procter & Gamble will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total value of $76,149.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,043.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 397,986 shares of company stock valued at $67,642,430. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 64.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.