Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.3% - Here's What Happened

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $165.04 and last traded at $162.84. 2,065,668 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 7,007,262 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.50.

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Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $396.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.59.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during 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%. Procter & Gamble's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company's stock worth $820,031,000 after acquiring an additional 608,168 shares during the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth $201,000. Invst LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 15,889 shares of the company's stock worth $2,752,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,632,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.