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

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $180.45.

A number of research analysts recently commented on PG shares. Barclays cut Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. DA Davidson upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock opened at $170.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $170.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.50. The stock has a market cap of $402.38 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Procter & Gamble has a 1 year low of $142.50 and a 1 year high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 69.31%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at $1,954,538.34. This trade represents a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,080 shares of company stock valued at $14,629,038 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after purchasing an additional 689,282 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,522,000 after purchasing an additional 830,476 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.