Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.3% - Here's What Happened

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $169.29 and last traded at $168.89. Approximately 1,500,982 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 6,406,835 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on PG. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.47.

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Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $167.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $395.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Procter & Gamble's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PG. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

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.

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