Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $155.00 to $159.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 3.38% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.85.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.8 %

PG stock opened at $164.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Procter & Gamble has a 1-year low of $152.06 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.38. The company has a market capitalization of $387.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth $33,000. Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at about $58,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 138.7% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 233 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.