Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Earns Buy Rating from DA Davidson

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by DA Davidson in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $209.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 23.28% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on PG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $169.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $399.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.44. Procter & Gamble has a 12-month low of $145.04 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $170.47 and a 200 day moving average of $169.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 7,007 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $1,202,751.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 269,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,203,373.80. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $108,826.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. This represents a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 83,080 shares of company stock worth $14,629,038. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.4% during the second quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 352,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,089,000 after purchasing an additional 4,962 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC now owns 9,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after buying an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Eukles Asset Management grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the second quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 9,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. PrairieView Partners LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 400.5% during the second quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 5,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 4,205 shares during the period. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the second quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC now owns 3,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.