Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 2.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price rose 2.1% during mid-day trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $188.00 to $190.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $176.49 and last traded at $176.45. Approximately 2,250,734 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 6,650,751 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.75.

PG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. DZ Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Nine 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.00.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. This represents a 3.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andre Schulten sold 13,041 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $2,216,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,325,360. The trade was a 25.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 160,693 shares of company stock worth $27,311,345 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 5.5% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 32,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,192,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 94.8% in the 1st quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, Lavaca Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC now owns 4,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $415.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.64.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 69.48%.

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.