UPDATE: Bank of America Raises PO to $71 on Procter & Gamble on Buyback and Cost Reduction

Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating on Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and increased its price objective from $67 to $71.

Bank of America noted, "PG has added $4B in buybacks for FY13 and is now expecting commodity pressure to be ~$200m less than originally expected. … PG delivered 240bps of savings in Q4 and is running ahead of schedule on headcount reduction. … [T]he Q1 organic sales outlook is +0-2%, suggesting an acceleration in Q2-Q4. Time will tell whether PG can truly drive material change in the business, or whether the prospect of activism is a motivating factor, but from here, we think macros are no longer disproportionately damaging results, marketing is moving higher, and savings may be starting to materialize, so we maintain our Buy."

Procter & Gamble closed at $65.50 on Friday.

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