Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on PG. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:PG opened at $167.66 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $167.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.78. Procter & Gamble has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $393.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PG. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by 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.