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

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares rose 0.5% during trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $168.00 to $170.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $162.10 and last traded at $161.29. Approximately 1,582,521 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 6,886,571 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.54.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.88.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,943,835.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,943,835.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 103,771 shares of company stock worth $16,292,467. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 48,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,073,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.5% in the third quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,460,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 21.3% in the third quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 5,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 42,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,180,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 9,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $159.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.77%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.