Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Downgraded by Erste Group Bank to Hold

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) was downgraded by research analysts at Erste Group Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on PG. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $150.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $156.00 to $179.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG traded down $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $143.92. 3,339,596 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,833,127. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $334.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.37. Procter & Gamble has a 1 year low of $137.62 and a 1 year high of $174.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $154.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.53.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 32.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, Chairman Jon R. Moeller sold 162,232 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.45, for a total transaction of $26,354,588.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 319,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,884,093.25. This trade represents a 33.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 36,093 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.33, for a total value of $5,858,976.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 34,994 shares in the company, valued at $5,680,576.02. The trade was a 50.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 348,618 shares of company stock valued at $55,462,643. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $4,664,783,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1,104.8% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 9,521,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,364,518,000 after purchasing an additional 8,731,126 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 15,971.7% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,012,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,270,000 after buying an additional 6,969,110 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 14,231.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,549,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,700,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524,876 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 21.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,374,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,608,785,000 after acquiring an additional 2,880,895 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.