Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $185.00. The stock had previously closed at $169.50, but opened at $174.23. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble shares last traded at $170.90, with a volume of 1,732,554 shares changing hands.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on PG. Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $182.00.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Exeter Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the first quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 17,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,943,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 13,166 shares of the company's stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 17,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 18,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,166,000 after buying an additional 3,776 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 92.1% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,617 shares of the company's stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 3,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average is $169.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $383.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 64.01%.

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.