Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.5% After Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $175.00 to $182.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $162.10 and last traded at $161.29. 1,582,521 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,886,571 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.54.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.76.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was 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 owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $149,160.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $379.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $159.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.13.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.77% and a net margin of 18.00%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.