Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 1% – Here’s What Happened

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) traded up 1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $162.91 and last traded at $162.63. 1,262,828 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 6,626,362 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen started coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.00.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 2.6 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $171.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.15. 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 market capitalization of $394.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 69.31%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $16,320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,570. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 31,797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $5,380,688.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 300,777 shares in the company, valued at $50,897,483.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $16,320,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,721 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,570. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 313,597 shares of company stock valued at $53,268,499. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth about $29,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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.