Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.2% Following Dividend Announcement

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price was up 0.2% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $161.15 and last traded at $160.08. Approximately 2,432,942 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 6,257,596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.74.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on PG. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays cut Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.05.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $378.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $338,640.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,110. The trade was a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,300,000 after acquiring an additional 4,035 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $569,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 185,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,065,000 after purchasing an additional 6,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,898,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,583,000 after buying an additional 201,695 shares in 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.