Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Lowers Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Price Target to $171.00

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) had its price target cut by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $172.00 to $171.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

PG has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $168.81.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $162.58 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $383.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Procter & Gamble has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $163.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.32.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $151,788. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $3,956,117,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,943,000 after acquiring an additional 3,159,796 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,193,916,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047,557 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 13,850.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,747,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,727,685 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 235.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,231,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,475,000 after acquiring an additional 2,268,805 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.