The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $180.53.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of PG opened at $165.98 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $389.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. Procter & Gamble has a 12-month low of $153.52 and a 12-month high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 64.17%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by 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.