Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.8% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price was up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Monday after DA Davidson upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. DA Davidson now has a $209.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $160.00. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $178.82 and last traded at $177.76. Approximately 1,954,169 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 6,668,916 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.28.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PG. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.45.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares in the company, valued at $3,319,882.65. The trade was a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,233 shares of company stock valued at $6,024,234. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.5% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,300,000 after buying an additional 4,035 shares in the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,705,000. Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 323,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,094,000 after purchasing an additional 2,990 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,005,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,213,403,000 after purchasing an additional 39,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 67.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 26,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,420,000 after purchasing an additional 10,777 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $422.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 69.31%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.