Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Price Target Raised to $180.00

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $176.00 to $180.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

PG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $164.41 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $387.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Procter & Gamble has a 52-week low of $152.06 and a 52-week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 32.88%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.17%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after buying an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after purchasing an additional 689,282 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,567,556,000 after purchasing an additional 122,190 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,522,000 after buying an additional 830,476 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.