Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 0.2%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares traded down 0.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $165.99 and last traded at $166.34. 793,393 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 6,528,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Argus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $165.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.54. 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 stock has a market cap of $389.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.42.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the firm’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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 64.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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.