Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 2% – What’s Next?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) were up 2% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $168.37 and last traded at $167.38. Approximately 2,322,069 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 7,462,198 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 3.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $399.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.98, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $168.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.39.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21,657,595.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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.