Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.4%

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) were down 0.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $167.07 and last traded at $167.23. Approximately 1,162,130 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 6,726,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.76.

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 company has a market cap of $395.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $161.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.25.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,943,835.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 149,261 shares of company stock valued at $24,375,791 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Dfpg Investments LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 24,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,680,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,419 shares of the company's stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 13.1% during 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. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 26,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 115,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,858,000 after purchasing an additional 15,599 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.