The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $180.42.

PG has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $172.70 on Friday. Procter & Gamble has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $166.07 and a 200-day moving average of $169.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $404.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466,115 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,432,000 after acquiring an additional 56,583 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.1% during the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 4,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 23.0% in the third quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.