Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Free Report) had its price target upped by Barclays from $159.00 to $165.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.82.

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Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of PG traded down $0.77 on Thursday, reaching $167.94. The stock had a trading volume of 5,479,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,889,318. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.35. Procter & Gamble has a 12-month low of $153.52 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently 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.