Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $177.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $164.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on PG. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.79.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG opened at $161.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $377.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $168.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.33. Procter & Gamble has a 52 week low of $156.58 and a 52 week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 65.77% of the stock is 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.