Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Upgraded at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Free Report) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $177.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $164.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on PG. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.79.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG traded up $1.51 on Friday, reaching $161.04. The stock had a trading volume of 12,892,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,124,247. The business's 50-day moving average price is $168.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.32. The company has a market cap of $377.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. Procter & Gamble has a 12-month low of $156.58 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.03). Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,244,463,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 20,758.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,951,456 shares of the company's stock worth $1,355,087,000 after purchasing an additional 7,913,335 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $1,010,685,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $580,596,000 after buying an additional 2,973,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,240,294,000 after buying an additional 2,846,560 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.