Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shot up 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $160.30 and last traded at $160.05. 1,203,451 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 6,320,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, December 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.50.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $376.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This trade represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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.