Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Given New $159.00 Price Target at Barclays

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its price objective lifted by Barclays from $155.00 to $159.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on PG. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.25.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of PG stock opened at $166.20 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $168.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.38. Procter & Gamble has a 1 year low of $152.06 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $391.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21,657,595.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Procter & Gamble will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 64.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,300,000 after buying an additional 4,035 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $569,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,898,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,583,000 after purchasing an additional 201,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 185,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,065,000 after purchasing an additional 6,077 shares during the period. 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.