Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.5% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) traded up 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $166.33 and last traded at $166.22. 1,299,091 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 7,057,422 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PG. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $389.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Warm Springs Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $292,000. North Star Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,733,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC NY bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $450,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $335,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2,615.3% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 6,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 6,512 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.