Brokerages Set The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Target Price at $180.45

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $180.45.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, December 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $160.61 on Thursday. Procter & Gamble has a 1 year low of $146.28 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $170.03 and its 200 day moving average is $169.80. The stock has a market cap of $378.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1,135.1% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 20,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 19,013 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 202,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,735 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 26.9% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 30,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,015,000 after acquiring an additional 6,447 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 8.4% during the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 8,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,474,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 38.0% during the second quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.