Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.5% After Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price was up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $168.00 to $170.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $162.10 and last traded at $161.29. Approximately 1,582,521 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 6,886,571 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.54.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PG. StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a 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 $168.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 100,865 shares of company stock worth $16,029,280. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $383.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $159.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.32.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

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.