Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.3%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price rose 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $168.10 and last traded at $167.93. Approximately 804,377 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 6,540,476 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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 target on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $389.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $165.60 and its 200 day moving average is $158.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 9,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.72, for a total value of $1,534,470.28. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,451.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Teza Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 212.9% in the 3rd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 4,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 2,915 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.3% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 50,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,328,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at $1,001,000. Gateway Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 10,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,481,000 after buying an additional 2,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,827,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.