The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-four research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $178.52.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PG shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price target on Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:PG traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $169.92. 12,584,837 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,308,668. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $164.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.40. The firm has a market cap of $398.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. Procter & Gamble has a twelve month low of $156.58 and a twelve month 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 40,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,717,000 after buying an additional 13,617 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $50,049,000. Busey Bank lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 185,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,180,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,147 shares of the company's stock worth $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $1,879,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.