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

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $188.00 to $190.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.90% from the company's previous close.

PG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.00.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of PG opened at $174.48 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $170.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $410.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.42. Procter & Gamble has a 52 week low of $142.50 and a 52 week high of $177.94.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 87,979 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.40, for a total transaction of $14,991,621.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 300,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,252,400.80. This represents a 22.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andre Schulten sold 13,041 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $2,216,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,208 shares in the company, valued at $6,325,360. This represents a 25.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,693 shares of company stock worth $27,311,345. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. Acorn Creek Capital LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the third quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the third quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

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.

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