JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Price Target to $181.00

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $186.00 to $181.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on PG. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays downgraded Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, December 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.05.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $160.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.45. Procter & Gamble has a 1 year low of $146.28 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $378.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 19,030.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,693,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,730,000 after purchasing an additional 3,674,286 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after buying an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after buying an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at about $301,950,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466,115 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.