Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.1%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) shares traded up 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $166.17 and last traded at $165.98. 1,200,978 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 6,743,137 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PG. Truist Financial raised Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $160.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.06 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 3.37 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.85%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total transaction of $3,528,592.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,080,172.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,112 shares of company stock valued at $22,841,321 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dfpg Investments LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 24,892 shares of the company's stock worth $3,680,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 6.3% during the third quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,419 shares of the company's stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 26,592 shares of the company's stock worth $3,897,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 115,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,858,000 after acquiring an additional 15,599 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.