Stifel Nicolaus Increases Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Price Target to $165.00

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its price target raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $161.00 to $165.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. 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 research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.25.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $166.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $391.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. Procter & Gamble has a 12 month low of $152.06 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The company 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 current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Procter & Gamble will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 42,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,128,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 56,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,400,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,261,000. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.