Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.6% Higher

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $156.98 and last traded at $156.93. 1,640,503 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 6,780,338 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PG. StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.92. The firm has a market cap of $371.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 67.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $149,160.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,160.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. AMI Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.2% during the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.7% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 18,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,073,000. Finally, Wsfs Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Wsfs Capital Management LLC now owns 4,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. 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.