The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Increases Dividend to $1.01 Per Share

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 9th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of 1.0065 per share on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94.

Procter & Gamble has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 68 years. Procter & Gamble has a payout ratio of 54.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Procter & Gamble to earn $6.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.3%.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE PG opened at $155.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64. Procter & Gamble has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $163.14. The firm has a market cap of $365.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. The company had revenue of $21.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PG. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.53.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aspect Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the first quarter valued at approximately $111,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Procter & Gamble

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.