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

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $168.91 and last traded at $168.58. 1,372,365 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 6,542,671 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.47. 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 firm has a market cap of $395.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.42.

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. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. 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 2.41%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $135,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at $634,634. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 20.9% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 403,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,922,000 after purchasing an additional 69,964 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at $11,730,000. Teza Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 212.9% in the 3rd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 4,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 2,915 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth $1,295,000. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 5.4% during the third quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 35,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.