Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.3% Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) were up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $159.64 and last traded at $159.33. Approximately 1,295,809 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 6,145,146 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.84.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 69.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PG. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, December 27th. Eight equities 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.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.05.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $169.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.45. The firm has a market cap of $378.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was 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 owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $338,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,783 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,135.1% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 20,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,412,000 after buying an additional 19,013 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. WealthPLAN Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 3,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,213,000. Finally, Lumbard & Kellner LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth approximately $413,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.