StockNews.com Upgrades Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) to “Buy”

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

PG has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $179.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $153.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.84.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $150.58 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $354.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.47. Procter & Gamble has a 12 month low of $135.80 and a 12 month high of $158.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 18th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.12. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.30% and a return on equity of 33.49%. The firm had revenue of $21.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CAO Matthew W. Janzaruk sold 188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total transaction of $27,921.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,973.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Andre Schulten sold 40,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.61, for a total value of $6,069,281.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 36,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,491,240.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew W. Janzaruk sold 188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total value of $27,921.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,973.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 105,715 shares of company stock valued at $16,025,205. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 632.0% in the 2nd quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 243 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 325.8% in the 1st quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Wunderlich Capital Managemnt purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. 63.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It 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, and SK-II brands.