Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 1.9% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) rose 1.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $179.99 and last traded at $178.99. Approximately 4,522,034 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 6,294,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seven 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.11.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 1.5 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.44 and a 200 day moving average of $169.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $405.72 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,812,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tevis Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.