Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Argus raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $185.00. Argus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $164.32 and last traded at $162.39, with a volume of 1786187 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $162.60.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on PG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.76.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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. Insiders have sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $159.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $383.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 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.