Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG – Get Free Report) were down 0.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $161.71 and last traded at $162.30. Approximately 857,757 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 6,559,804 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.72.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Argus increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.72.
Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.7 %
The firm has a market cap of $386.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.
Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were given a $1.0065 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.
Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble
In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,179,061.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,552,000 after acquiring an additional 206,165 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,629,299,000 after purchasing an additional 346,925 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,556,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,547,021,000 after purchasing an additional 559,358 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by 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.