The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Raises Dividend to $1.06 Per Share

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 8th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of 1.0568 per share on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This is a 5.0% increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01.

Procter & Gamble has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 69 years. Procter & Gamble has a payout ratio of 54.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Procter & Gamble to earn $7.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.03 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.9%.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG traded up $3.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $166.96. 8,602,709 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,038,790. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Procter & Gamble has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.62. The stock has a market cap of $391.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS 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 business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PG. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business's 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Procter & Gamble stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 51.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 40,068 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,617 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $6,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.

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.