Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.7% on Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) shares were up 0.7% during trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $159.00 to $165.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $168.87 and last traded at $167.77. Approximately 1,653,278 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 6,465,882 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.58.

PG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Erste Group Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.82.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 22,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,244,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company's stock worth $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $580,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company's stock worth $1,240,294,000 after buying an additional 2,846,560 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $168.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.35. The company has a market capitalization of $393.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 64.01%.

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.