Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) PT Raised to $185.00 at Argus

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Argus from $180.00 to $185.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Argus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.74% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $161.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44. Procter & Gamble has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $164.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $159.64 and a 200 day moving average of $153.51.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Procter & Gamble will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,788. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Dfpg Investments LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 24,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,680,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 6.3% in the third quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 14.6% in the third quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 94,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 12,016 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,003,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,298,184,000 after purchasing an additional 131,339 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 105.5% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 59,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,699,000 after purchasing an additional 30,473 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 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.