Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.1% on Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) rose 0.1% on Thursday after Argus raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $185.00. Argus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $164.32 and last traded at $162.77. Approximately 2,044,863 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 6,908,812 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.60.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” 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 target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% in the 4th 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 during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $159.57 and a 200-day moving average of $153.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.