Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on PG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $179.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a buy rating and a $189.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an outperform rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $173.95.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 2.6 %

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $170.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Procter & Gamble has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $170.92.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.33%. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total transaction of $3,528,592.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,080,172.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 9,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.72, for a total transaction of $1,534,470.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,929 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,451.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total value of $3,528,592.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,080,172.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,461 shares of company stock worth $10,392,774. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,956,117,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,943,000 after buying an additional 3,159,796 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 13,850.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,747,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,601,000 after buying an additional 2,727,685 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 114.9% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,568,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,017,000 after acquiring an additional 1,907,716 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 1st quarter valued at $233,788,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.