Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-three research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $178.45.

PG has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $159.03 on Thursday. Procter & Gamble has a one year low of $156.58 and a one year high of $180.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $162.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $372.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 18.46%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. The trade was a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

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.

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