Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.5% Higher

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) shares shot up 0.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $166.04 and last traded at $165.31. 1,948,910 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,844,294 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on PG. Argus increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.8 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $160.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $391.22 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business 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 earned $1.37 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share 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 issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 hyperlink. In related news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,859 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $5,253,549.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,605,961.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 36,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,724 shares of company stock worth $19,312,729 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,313,150 shares of the company's stock worth $4,275,616,000 after acquiring an additional 670,862 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,336,552,000 after purchasing an additional 206,165 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company's stock worth $1,629,299,000 after purchasing an additional 346,925 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.