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

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares shot up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $164.13 and last traded at $163.74. 1,272,301 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 6,880,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on PG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.4 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $388.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.04.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Dfpg Investments LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 24,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,680,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 26,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,897,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 14.6% in the third quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 94,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,772,000 after acquiring an additional 12,016 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,003,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,298,184,000 after acquiring an additional 131,339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.