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

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

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $168.81.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $162.58 on Monday. Procter & Gamble has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $163.14. The stock has a market cap of $383.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $159.46 and its 200-day moving average is $153.32.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Procter & Gamble will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $3,956,117,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 106.2% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,943,000 after buying an additional 3,159,796 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13,850.3% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,747,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,601,000 after buying an additional 2,727,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 235.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,231,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,475,000 after buying an additional 2,268,805 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.