Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.6% – What’s Next?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $172.78 and last traded at $172.09. 1,317,898 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 6,664,009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $403.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $170.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.65.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.31%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $108,826.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. This represents a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 7,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $1,202,751.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 269,172 shares in the company, valued at $46,203,373.80. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,080 shares of company stock worth $14,629,038 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 19,030.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,693,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,730,000 after acquiring an additional 3,674,286 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 16,292.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 3,675,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $606,230,000 after acquiring an additional 3,653,477 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $301,950,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.