Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Price Target Raised to $159.00

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Barclays from $155.00 to $159.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $180.25.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Procter & Gamble stock traded down $1.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $164.41. 6,199,532 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,816,624. Procter & Gamble has a fifty-two week low of $152.06 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The firm's fifty day moving average is $168.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $387.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 5,438 shares of the company's stock worth $912,000 after buying an additional 1,333 shares during the last quarter. Vantage Point Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $774,000. Optas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 5,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 23,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,009,000 after buying an additional 7,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holistic Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Holistic Planning LLC now owns 16,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,828,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.