Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $185.00. The stock had previously closed at $169.50, but opened at $174.23. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble shares last traded at $170.90, with a volume of 1,732,554 shares changing hands.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a market cap of $400.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $169.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 64.01%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.