Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 5.4% Following Strong Earnings

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) shot up 5.4% during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $166.72 and last traded at $165.3170. 5,141,364 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 9,660,444 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.84.

The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $23.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.80 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 31.36% and a net margin of 18.44%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.99 EPS.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.0885 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.71%.

Procter & Gamble News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Procter & Gamble this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PG reported quarterly earnings of $2.00 per share, exceeding the $1.89 consensus estimate and rising from $1.99 a year earlier. Revenue increased 4% year over year to $23.28 billion, above expectations of approximately $22.80 billion. Procter & Gamble Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Sales growth was supported by laundry and home-care products, suggesting demand for essential brands such as Tide and Pampers is holding up despite pressure on consumer budgets. Procter & Gamble Earnings Beat as Sales Rise 4%
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year sales outlook, with the acquisition of Thorne contributing to the improved forecast. Organic growth guidance remains approximately 1% to 3%. Organic Growth and Thorne Acquisition Drive Procter & Gamble Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its Outperform rating and maintained a $166 price target, implying additional upside from the referenced share price. Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: PG’s defensive profile remains attractive to income investors: the company recently announced its 70th consecutive annual dividend increase. However, modest organic-growth expectations may limit the stock’s valuation upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned that higher commodity and fuel costs could create an approximately $1.4 billion cost squeeze and result in a larger hit to annual profit. Investors will therefore focus on pricing, cost controls and whether sales growth can offset inflationary pressures. P&G Flags Bigger Hit to Annual Profit from Higher Commodity Costs

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, October 16th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $149.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $166.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.20.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Susan Whaley sold 2,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.34, for a total value of $344,310.46. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,466,298.20. This represents a 7.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Marc Pritchard sold 4,030 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.79, for a total transaction of $579,473.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 187,001 shares in the company, valued at $26,888,873.79. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 15,135 shares of company stock worth $2,189,970 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,862,105,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,216,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,988,999,000 after acquiring an additional 965,461 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,850,628,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $2,281,505,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,797,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,704,182,000 after purchasing an additional 300,280 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $147.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) is a global consumer products company that develops, manufactures and markets branded products used in households and personal care. Its portfolio includes personal health and grooming products, beauty and skin care items, baby, feminine and family care products, fabric and home care products, and oral care products.

The company’s well-known brands include Pampers, Tide, Gillette, Crest, Oral-B, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Olay, Old Spice, Dawn, Febreze and Mr.