Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.2%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price traded up 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $156.94 and last traded at $155.75. 1,135,758 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 6,785,601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.80. The company has a market capitalization of $369.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 62.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 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.