Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 1.8% After Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price rose 1.8% on Thursday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $185.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $174.80 and last traded at $172.53. Approximately 3,486,593 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 6,897,743 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.50.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on PG. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,031,000 after purchasing an additional 608,168 shares during the period. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 138.7% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $406.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $169.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.27.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 64.01%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.