Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.2% - What's Next?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $171.95 and last traded at $171.46. Approximately 1,224,938 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 6,660,071 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on PG. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. DZ Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $401.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $170.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.75.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.31%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. The trade was a 3.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total value of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at $1,954,538.34. The trade was a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,080 shares of company stock valued at $14,629,038 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,300,000 after buying an additional 4,035 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth about $668,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 185,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,065,000 after purchasing an additional 6,077 shares during the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,705,000. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 323,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,094,000 after buying an additional 2,990 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, SK-II, and Native brands.