Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Erste Group Bank

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

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.80.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $159.99 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $167.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.08. Procter & Gamble has a 12 month low of $156.58 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at $8,386,111.70. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,330,060. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $5,244,463,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 20,758.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,951,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,355,087,000 after buying an additional 7,913,335 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $1,010,685,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,596,000 after buying an additional 2,973,757 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,240,294,000 after buying an additional 2,846,560 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is 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.