Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.82.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $153.46 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $153.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Procter & Gamble has a one year low of $122.18 and a one year high of $158.38. The company has a market cap of $361.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.42.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.05. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The company had revenue of $20.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 8,387 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.87, for a total value of $1,315,668.69. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $150,908.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 8,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.87, for a total transaction of $1,315,668.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,908.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.82, for a total transaction of $119,352.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,294.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 106,607 shares of company stock valued at $16,523,793. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.2% in the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 5.7% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 18,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the first quarter worth about $3,073,000. Finally, Wsfs Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 12.0% during the first quarter. Wsfs Capital Management LLC now owns 4,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. 63.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.