Erste Group Bank Upgrades Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) to “Strong-Buy”

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) was upgraded by Erste Group Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of PG opened at $167.66 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $393.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. Procter & Gamble has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $167.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.78.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $716,000. Thoma Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $318,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,671,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,291,000 after buying an additional 137,682 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 162,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,265,000 after buying an additional 13,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Members Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $725,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.