Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Climb 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) were up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $150.76 and last traded at $150.5980. Approximately 10,051,881 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 9,684,540 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.82.

Trending Headlines about Procter & Gamble

Here are the key news stories impacting Procter & Gamble this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI upgraded PG to Outperform from In Line, signaling improved confidence in the company’s outlook and likely providing the strongest near-term catalyst for the shares. Evercore ISI upgrades Procter & Gamble
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $170 from $160 while maintaining a Buy rating. The higher target suggests analysts see additional upside from current levels, despite P&G’s relatively modest recent growth. BofA adjusts price target on Procter & Gamble
• Positive Sentiment: P&G continues to appeal to income-oriented investors because it has raised its dividend for roughly seven decades. Its household-brand portfolio and defensive business model may also support demand in uncertain markets. Dividend stocks and P&G’s dividend history
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary highlights potential long-term growth opportunities, but P&G’s latest quarterly revenue increased only 1.5% year over year, and the stock has significantly lagged the S&P 500 over the past 12 months. Upcoming earnings and the annual meeting could therefore be important catalysts. P&G’s biggest opportunity
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore ISI also flagged a new cost problem affecting brands such as Tide and Pampers. P&G may need to decide whether to absorb the pressure, raise prices or accept margin damage, creating a risk to profitability and consumer demand. Procter & Gamble could face new cost problem

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, September 21st. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.70.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.5%

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $145.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.08. The firm has a market cap of $351.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.38 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 31.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.890-7.110 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a $1.0885 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $4.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Matthew Janzaruk sold 359 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.24, for a total transaction of $52,141.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,600.04. This trade represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Whaley sold 2,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.34, for a total transaction of $344,310.46. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,466,298.20. This represents a 7.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 15,135 shares of company stock worth $2,189,970 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,862,105,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,850,628,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,281,505,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $1,480,650,000. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1,104.8% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 9,521,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,364,518,000 after acquiring an additional 8,731,126 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) is a consumer products company that develops, manufactures and markets branded products used in households and personal care routines. Its portfolio includes products in categories such as beauty, grooming, health care, fabric and home care, and family care.

Major brands associated with Procter & Gamble include Pampers, Tide, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Oral-B, Crest, Olay, Old Spice, Febreze, Mr. Clean, Swiffer and Bounty. The company sells its products through retailers, e-commerce platforms and other distribution channels.

Founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, the company has grown into a global consumer goods business serving customers in markets around the world.