Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 1.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) were up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $170.35 and last traded at $170.17. Approximately 1,801,737 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 6,869,987 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on PG. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.82.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $400.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $168.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.27.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,524,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,457,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,419 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,928,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,386,194,000 after buying an additional 1,209,275 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.