Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms "Sector Perform" Rating for Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG)

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sector perform" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $164.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price objective suggests a potential downside of 2.30% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.50.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded up $2.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $167.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,473,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,035,410. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $168.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.45. The company has a market capitalization of $393.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. Procter & Gamble has a 52 week low of $156.69 and a 52 week high of $180.43.

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

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,524,976,000 after buying an additional 1,592,061 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company's stock worth $9,457,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company's stock worth $4,928,107,000 after buying an additional 2,703,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company's stock worth $3,386,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209,275 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

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.

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