Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price was up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $174.00 to $191.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $170.73 and last traded at $169.92. Approximately 2,428,094 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 6,666,199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.54.

PG has been the topic of several other research reports. DZ Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,341 shares in the company, valued at $3,319,882.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $108,826.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 7,007 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $1,202,751.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 269,172 shares in the company, valued at $46,203,373.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 383,194 shares of company stock worth $65,140,718 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 64.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $400.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.48%.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.