Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) shot up 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $168.04 and last traded at $167.56. 1,710,178 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 7,021,560 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.75.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. 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. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.50.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble Price Performance
The stock's fifty day moving average is $168.32 and its 200-day moving average is $168.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59, 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.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 67.20%.
Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble
In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company's stock worth $38,524,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company's stock worth $9,457,000,000 after buying an additional 1,267,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,928,107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,386,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209,275 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.
About Procter & Gamble
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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