Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.8% – Here’s Why

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price traded up 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $175.25 and last traded at $174.49. 1,471,261 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,313,105 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.11.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $411.31 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $166.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.65.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,812,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tevis Investment Management boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 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.