Jefferies Financial Group Downgrades Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) to Hold

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) was downgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $175.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $182.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.82% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Argus lifted their price target 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 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.29.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $166.95 on Wednesday. Procter & Gamble has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $170.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $166.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.36. The company has a market cap of $394.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total transaction of $3,528,592.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,854 shares in the company, valued at $6,080,172.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total transaction of $3,528,592.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,080,172.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 125,320 shares of company stock worth $20,696,223. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,552,000 after acquiring an additional 206,165 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,556,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,547,021,000 after acquiring an additional 559,358 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,571,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,402,636,000 after buying an additional 246,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,492,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,390,963,000 after buying an additional 1,387,539 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% 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.