Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.2% Higher

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price shot up 0.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $164.13 and last traded at $163.74. 1,272,301 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 6,880,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $387.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.97.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,865 shares of company stock worth $14,059,180. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the first quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It 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, and SK-II brands.