Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Strong Earnings

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 2,230,964 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the previous session’s volume of 6,802,599 shares.The stock last traded at $154.47 and had previously closed at $157.29.

The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PG. Raymond James raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction 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 three months, insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 184,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,785,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. BetterWealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter valued at about $206,000. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,161,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,293,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. now owns 23,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,825,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50-day moving average is $159.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.92. The firm has a market cap of $371.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.44.

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.