Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.3% – What’s Next?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $162.15 and last traded at $161.67. Approximately 1,951,104 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 6,395,069 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.25.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $391.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.92 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Procter & Gamble

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.