Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Rating Lowered by Erste Group Bank

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) was downgraded by equities researchers at Erste Group Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PG. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.80.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of PG stock opened at $159.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $375.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. Procter & Gamble has a 1-year low of $156.58 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,330,060 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 27,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,818 shares during the period. Fortem Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $569,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,568 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.