Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 0.1%

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shot up 0.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $168.96 and last traded at $168.48. 1,523,328 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,535,408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $396.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $164.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.17.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 64.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It 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, and SK-II brands.