Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Sets New 1-Year High at $171.89

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $171.89 and last traded at $170.65, with a volume of 953203 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $170.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $179.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.95.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.54. The company has a market capitalization of $401.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 10,623 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $1,797,624.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 23,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,042,665.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 10,623 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $1,797,624.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 23,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,042,665.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $76,149.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,043.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,259 shares of company stock worth $21,628,393 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Alera Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the first quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 5,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Home Federal Bank of Tennessee increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.3% in the second quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee now owns 23,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,846,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.