Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.3%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares dropped 0.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $163.02 and last traded at $163.43. Approximately 818,439 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 6,550,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. Argus boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.4 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $385.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.85%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047,557 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,552,000 after buying an additional 206,165 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,629,299,000 after buying an additional 346,925 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,556,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,547,021,000 after buying an additional 559,358 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.