Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.4% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) were up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $179.00 to $186.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $172.66 and last traded at $172.27. Approximately 2,721,033 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 6,540,039 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.54.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. DZ Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.16.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,451.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 37,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.89, for a total value of $6,289,463.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 263,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,508,763.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,553 shares of company stock valued at $63,829,141. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alera Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the first quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.1% in the second quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the first quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 5,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Home Federal Bank of Tennessee grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.3% in the second quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee now owns 23,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,846,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $170.21 and a 200-day moving average of $165.69. The company has a market cap of $411.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.