Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Given New $185.00 Price Target at Argus

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Argus from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on PG. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $162.55. 7,093,838 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,973,202. Procter & Gamble has a 52 week low of $141.45 and a 52 week high of $164.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company's 50-day moving average is $159.46 and its 200 day moving average is $153.32.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company's stock, valued at $151,788. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 8.6% during the third quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 23,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,860 shares in the last quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 583.6% during the third quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC now owns 14,061 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 12,004 shares in the last quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% during the third quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 2,676 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 20.0% during the third quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $830,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atwater Malick LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the third quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 58,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,571,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.