Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.7% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares were up 0.7% during trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $159.00 to $165.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $168.87 and last traded at $167.77. Approximately 1,653,278 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 6,465,882 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.58.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $393.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $168.60 and its 200 day moving average is $169.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.