Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 0.6%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was up 0.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $168.65 and last traded at $168.56. Approximately 5,112,634 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 5,062,846 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PG. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Argus raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.5 %

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 market cap of $395.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.89.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total value of $135,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $634,634. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PG. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $17,696,000. Dfpg Investments LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 24,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,680,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 26,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 29.0% in the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 43,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,010,000 after purchasing an additional 9,716 shares in the last quarter. 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.