The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Price Target to $155.00

Key Points

• The Goldman Sachs Group cut its price target on Procter & Gamble from $159 to $155 and kept a neutral rating, implying roughly a 7.9% upside from current levels.
• Analysts overall show a consensus of Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $164.79, though opinions are mixed — e.g., JPMorgan upgraded to overweight (PT $165) while Wells Fargo and others trimmed targets.
• Insiders have been net sellers (348,618 shares worth about $55.5M in the last 90 days), even as large institutions such as Norges Bank and Vanguard meaningfully increased their stakes.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $159.00 to $155.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.92% from the stock's current price.

PG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $158.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $164.79.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE PG opened at $143.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $333.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.41. Procter & Gamble has a one year low of $137.62 and a one year high of $171.65. The firm's fifty day moving average is $153.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.35.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 32.21%. Procter & Gamble's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 15,169 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.28, for a total transaction of $2,461,625.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,259,595.80. This represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,827 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $2,056,296.37. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,639 shares in the company, valued at $2,026,158.09. The trade was a 50.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 348,618 shares of company stock valued at $55,462,643 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,664,783,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,104.8% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 9,521,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,364,518,000 after purchasing an additional 8,731,126 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14,231.0% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,549,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $508,700,000 after purchasing an additional 3,524,876 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 237,459,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,030,358,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 100.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,460,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $782,607,000 after purchasing an additional 2,741,924 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble NYSE: PG is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world's largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G's product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.

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