Brokerages Set The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Target Price at $178.52

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-four analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $178.52.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $157.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $369.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Procter & Gamble has a fifty-two week low of $156.58 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. The trade was a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 64,520 shares of company stock valued at $10,999,268 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter valued at $3,753,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolution Advisers Inc. now owns 619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 10,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after buying an additional 2,734 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 33,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,380,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Financial Services LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 14,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,523,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.