Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading 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 $162.39, with a volume of 1786187 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.60.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on PG. Raymond James upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PG. KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 20.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 62,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,130,000 after acquiring an additional 10,719 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 241,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,233,000 after buying an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 56,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,210,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

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 market cap of $380.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $159.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.51.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.