Erste Group Bank Downgrades Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) to Hold

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $177.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PG traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $143.92. The stock had a trading volume of 3,339,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,833,127. The company has a market cap of $334.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $154.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.53. Procter & Gamble has a twelve month low of $137.62 and a twelve month high of $174.80.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 32.21%. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.36 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, Chairman Jon R. Moeller sold 162,232 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.45, for a total transaction of $26,354,588.40. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 319,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,884,093.25. This represents a 33.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 5,549 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total value of $917,194.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,083.41. This trade represents a 84.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 348,618 shares of company stock worth $55,462,643. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,664,783,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,104.8% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 9,521,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,364,518,000 after purchasing an additional 8,731,126 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 15,971.7% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,012,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,270,000 after purchasing an additional 6,969,110 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14,231.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,549,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,700,000 after buying an additional 3,524,876 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,374,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,608,785,000 after acquiring an additional 2,880,895 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.