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

BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $187.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. 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 target price on the stock. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $166.62 on Monday. Procter & Gamble has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $169.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Procter & Gamble will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sold a total of 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 64.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.