Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.7% Higher

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) traded up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $170.09 and last traded at $169.10. 1,715,634 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 6,459,251 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a 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 $174.29.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.3 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.51. The stock has a market cap of $399.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total transaction of $5,049,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,483.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total transaction of $5,049,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,483.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,179,061.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 125,320 shares of company stock valued at $20,696,223 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 64.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.