Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 0% on Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 0% during mid-day trading on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $165.00 to $168.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $155.94 and last traded at $155.90. 1,249,459 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 6,802,310 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.84.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Truist Financial raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 163,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,097,637.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 163,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $365.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $159.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. The firm had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is 62.98%.

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.