Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 1.2% – What’s Next?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price was up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $169.38 and last traded at $167.98. Approximately 2,446,988 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 7,113,268 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.6 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $396.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after purchasing an additional 689,282 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after buying an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,133,850,000 after buying an additional 312,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,422,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,844,442,000 after buying an additional 105,734 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.