Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) traded up 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $160.30 and last traded at $160.05. 1,203,451 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 6,320,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, December 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. 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. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $169.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 69.48%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $338,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,110. This represents a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FCG Investment Co increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 7,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 5,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $875,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 5,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madrona Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $382,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.