Procter & Gamble Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PG)

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 29,788 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 42% compared to the average daily volume of 21,000 call options.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PG traded up $1.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $162.69. 3,306,803 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,882,929. Procter & Gamble has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $164.32. The stock has a market cap of $383.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $159.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,865 shares of company stock worth $9,009,280 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047,557 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,313,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,275,616,000 after acquiring an additional 670,862 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,552,000 after purchasing an additional 206,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,629,299,000 after purchasing an additional 346,925 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Raymond James raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Argus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.76.

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.