Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.5% After Dividend Announcement

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) traded up 0.5% on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $159.47 and last traded at $159.15. 1,707,627 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 6,981,983 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.39.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is currently 67.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to 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 Up 2.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $391.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $168.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business's 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 in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company's stock worth $38,524,976,000 after buying an additional 1,592,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,457,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,419 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company's stock worth $4,928,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.