Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.1% on Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price shot up 0.1% during trading 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 $162.77. 2,044,863 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 6,908,812 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.60.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on PG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $159.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.39. The stock has a market capitalization 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 results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 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.