The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $181.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of PG stock traded up $1.98 on Friday, reaching $168.89. 4,406,849 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,030,000. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $396.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $168.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.59. Procter & Gamble has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is currently 67.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 172,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

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

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.