Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Raised to "Outperform" at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Free Report) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has $177.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $164.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $180.79.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE PG traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $161.68. The company had a trading volume of 3,075,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,112,859. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $379.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $168.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.25. Procter & Gamble has a 1-year low of $156.58 and a 1-year high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.0568 dividend. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company's stock worth $820,031,000 after buying an additional 608,168 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at about $201,000. Invst LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 15,889 shares of the company's stock worth $2,752,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth approximately $1,632,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.