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

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its price target boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $175.00 to $182.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price 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 assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $168.81.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $162.58 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $159.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Procter & Gamble has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $163.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $383.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,313,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,616,000 after buying an additional 670,862 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,552,000 after buying an additional 206,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,629,299,000 after buying an additional 346,925 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Procter & Gamble

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.