Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Given New $182.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its price objective raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $175.00 to $182.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on PG. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, 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 on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $168.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG opened at $160.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $159.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.13. Procter & Gamble has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $163.14. The firm has a market cap of $377.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44.

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 net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.77%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Procter & Gamble will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.