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

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) rose 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $170.43 and last traded at $170.61. Approximately 1,541,982 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 6,882,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.40. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $381.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bienville Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Bienville Capital Management LLC now owns 4,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 10,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 60,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,184,000 after acquiring an additional 3,726 shares during the last quarter. Pennington Partners & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $624,000. Finally, Hutner Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,921,000 after purchasing an additional 5,152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.