Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.9% Higher – Here’s Why

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price rose 0.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $172.51 and last traded at $172.46. Approximately 1,285,917 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 6,650,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.00.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $170.01 and a 200-day moving average of $168.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $408.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 87,979 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.40, for a total value of $14,991,621.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 300,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,252,400.80. The trade was a 22.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 14,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.78, for a total value of $2,382,692.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,673,351.68. This represents a 58.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 174,727 shares of company stock valued at $29,694,037. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acorn Creek Capital LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Procter & Gamble

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.