Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Given New $185.00 Price Target at Argus

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its price target hoisted by Argus from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

PG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.4 %

PG stock opened at $163.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $159.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.39. Procter & Gamble has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $164.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $385.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the first quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $854,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.