Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 1.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) were up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $185.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $174.80 and last traded at $172.53. Approximately 3,486,593 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 6,897,743 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.50.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on PG. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on 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 assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $406.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $169.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.27.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.