Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.6% Higher – Here’s Why

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $172.78 and last traded at $172.09. 1,317,898 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 6,664,009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DZ Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.75. 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 company has a market capitalization of $401.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 69.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. This trade represents a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,080 shares of company stock valued at $14,629,038. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth $33,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $36,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.