Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.4%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares were up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $162.55 and last traded at $162.32. Approximately 1,161,291 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 6,857,157 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PG. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $159.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $385.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,483.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 36,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,271,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 94.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the third quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 39,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,734,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the third quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 30,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,505,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.3% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 39,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,724,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.