Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.6%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $166.06 and last traded at $166.06. 790,022 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 6,802,436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $160.33 and a 200-day moving average of $154.57. The firm has a market cap of $391.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total transaction of $3,528,592.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,080,172.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total value of $3,528,592.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,080,172.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,112 shares of company stock valued at $22,841,321 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 64.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.