Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Price Target Raised to $182.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its target price raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $175.00 to $182.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $162.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Procter & Gamble has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $164.32. The company has a market capitalization of $383.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $159.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.39.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.