Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.5% Higher

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares shot up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $167.75 and last traded at $167.65. 904,424 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 6,552,429 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PG. Truist Financial raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $393.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $165.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.54.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. Analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lazari Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 44.8% in the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 4,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 6,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. NBW Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter valued at about $273,000. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,250,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It 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, and SK-II brands.