Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on PG. Truist Financial raised Procter & Gamble from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Argus increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $168.52 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.42. Procter & Gamble has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $169.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th were given a $1.0065 dividend. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total value of $3,528,592.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,854 shares in the company, valued at $6,080,172.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 64.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 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.