DA Davidson Initiates Coverage on Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG)

Investment analysts at DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $159.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 6.07% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on PG. TD Cowen began coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued 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 target price of $175.05.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of PG stock traded up $1.11 on Wednesday, hitting $169.27. 8,758,618 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,674,854. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.73. Procter & Gamble has a twelve month low of $141.66 and a twelve month high of $177.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $171.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $399.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 7,007 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $1,202,751.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 269,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,203,373.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 383,194 shares of company stock worth $65,140,718. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 64.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.