Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.4% - Here's Why

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $161.71 and last traded at $161.71. Approximately 1,685,004 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 7,103,522 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $180.79.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $381.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $167.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.17.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,330,060 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 14.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company's stock worth $820,031,000 after buying an additional 608,168 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $201,000. Invst LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 15,889 shares of the company's stock worth $2,752,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $1,632,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.