Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.2% Higher – Here’s Why

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares rose 0.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $167.06 and last traded at $166.29. Approximately 1,426,994 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 6,641,031 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.00.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $170.61 and a 200-day moving average of $168.28. The stock has a market cap of $393.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $76,149.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,043.84. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 37,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.89, for a total value of $6,289,463.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,508,763.93. The trade was a 12.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,597 shares of company stock worth $53,268,499 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PG. Acorn Creek Capital LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the third quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.1% during the second quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the third quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.