Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price shot up 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $160.30 and last traded at $160.05. 1,203,451 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 6,320,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PG. Barclays dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $163.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler began coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $169.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,135.1% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 20,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,412,000 after buying an additional 19,013 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Cowa LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 8.2% in the second quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.0% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 29,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,784,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 13.2% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 131,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,763,000 after acquiring an additional 15,337 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.