Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.3% Higher

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares traded up 0.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $175.72 and last traded at $175.05. 2,105,087 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 6,567,233 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PG. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen started coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $179.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.79.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $414.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $168.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.52.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $76,149.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,043.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $76,149.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,212,043.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 3,373 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $573,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 21,513 shares in the company, valued at $3,657,210. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 375,553 shares of company stock worth $63,829,141 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $17,696,000. Campbell Wealth Management increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 29.0% in the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 43,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,010,000 after acquiring an additional 9,716 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 52,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,743,000 after acquiring an additional 15,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steele Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter worth $204,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.