Brokerages Set The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) PT at $181.47

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $181.47.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.7 %

PG opened at $167.47 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Procter & Gamble has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The business’s 50 day moving average is $167.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.76. The firm has a market cap of $392.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.01%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.