Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) were up 1.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $169.72 and last traded at $169.67. Approximately 2,814,706 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 7,024,717 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PG. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.50.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $168.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.59. The stock has a market cap of $397.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.0568 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $5,244,463,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 20,758.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,951,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,355,087,000 after buying an additional 7,913,335 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,010,685,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,596,000 after buying an additional 2,973,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,846,560 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.