Procter & Gamble Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:PG)

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 37,303 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 79% compared to the typical volume of 20,808 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.95.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $170.01. The stock had a trading volume of 2,661,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,631,404. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.41. Procter & Gamble has a 12 month low of $141.45 and a 12 month high of $171.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $167.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.36.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. Research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.69%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total value of $12,342,475.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,002,649.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 84,389 shares of company stock valued at $14,373,932 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alera Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.1% in the second quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LCM Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 5,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. 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.