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

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $178.52.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. The trade was a 29.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 27.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 679,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,512,000 after purchasing an additional 147,618 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 78.4% during the first quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the first quarter valued at approximately $118,035,000. Finally, Wealth Management Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Management Associates Inc. now owns 9,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.8%

PG opened at $169.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $398.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. Procter & Gamble has a 12-month low of $156.58 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $164.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were given a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.