Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.3% Higher

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) traded up 0.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $156.94 and last traded at $155.95. 6,103,296 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 0% from the average session volume of 6,114,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Truist Financial raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 2.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $159.13 and its 200-day moving average is $152.83. The stock has a market cap of $362.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.98%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,943,835.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.2% in the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.7% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 18,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the first quarter worth $3,073,000. Finally, Wsfs Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 12.0% during the first quarter. Wsfs Capital Management LLC now owns 4,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.