Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.6% Higher - Here's Why

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $171.88 and last traded at $171.75. Approximately 1,083,288 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 6,693,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PG shares. DZ Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lowered Procter & Gamble from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $163.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $160.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $405.14 billion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $170.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 69.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This trade represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,080 shares of company stock worth $14,629,038 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Acorn Creek Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company's stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Traveka Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company's stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,699 shares of the company's stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.