Procter & Gamble Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PG)

Key Points

• Unusually large options activity: Investors bought 42,085 call options on PG on Friday, roughly 30% above the typical daily call volume of 32,301, signaling elevated bullish interest.
• Insider selling notable: CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 36,093 shares (~$5.86M) and insiders have sold 252,715 shares (~$40.97M) in the past 90 days, with company insiders now owning just 0.20% of shares.
• Earnings, guidance and dividend: P&G beat Q3 EPS estimates ($1.59 vs. $1.56), reaffirmed FY26 EPS guidance (6.83–7.09), raised the quarterly dividend to $1.0885 (annual $4.35, 2.9% yield), but flagged an estimated ~$150M profit headwind from Middle East-related input and logistics costs.

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 42,085 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 30% compared to the typical volume of 32,301 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 36,093 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.33, for a total transaction of $5,858,976.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 34,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,680,576.02. The trade was a 50.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 1,809 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total value of $288,463.14. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,818,083.90. The trade was a 5.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 252,715 shares of company stock worth $40,966,904. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Triodos Investment Management BV lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 255,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,195,000 after purchasing an additional 17,400 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 234,630,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,050,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,322 shares during the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 820.6% in the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 14,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,308,000 after purchasing an additional 13,195 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. now owns 150,814 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,173,000 after purchasing an additional 37,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 84,512 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,985,000 after purchasing an additional 14,954 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock traded up $3.69 on Friday, hitting $149.40. 6,274,110 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,963,843. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $347.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.41. Procter & Gamble has a 1-year low of $137.62 and a 1-year high of $170.99. The company's fifty day moving average is $150.56 and its 200 day moving average is $148.72.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.52 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.The business's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.830-7.090 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Procter & Gamble will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 24th. This represents a $4.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Erste Group Bank cut Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $150.00 to $142.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.37.

Key Procter & Gamble News

Here are the key news stories impacting Procter & Gamble this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings beat and solid sales growth — P&G reported adjusted EPS above estimates and quarterly net sales up ~7% year-over-year, which helped lift the stock. P&G earnings beat (CNBC)
• Positive Sentiment: First volume growth in a year and demand for premium beauty products — management cited strength in beauty and recovering household volumes, signaling improving underlying demand. Volume growth and beauty strength (Invezz)
• Positive Sentiment: Company reaffirmed full-year FY26 guidance — management maintained its FY26 EPS range, which reassured investors that the beat is not being followed by a downward revision to guidance. Press release and guidance (BusinessWire)
• Neutral Sentiment: Brand and innovation recognition — P&G was named #1 in Household Products on Fortune’s Most Innovative Companies list, a longer‑term positive for brand strength but not an immediate earnings driver. Fortune innovation ranking (Yahoo Finance)
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term cost headwind from Middle East conflict — P&G flagged an estimated ~$150M hit to annual profit from higher input and logistics costs tied to the Iran/Middle East situation. Input cost hit (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target trims and pressure on valuation — several firms have lowered price targets or adjusted estimates (BNP Paribas, BofA, others), reflecting concerns about higher resin/input costs and modest guidance positioning. Analyst target adjustments (MarketScreener)

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble NYSE: PG is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world's largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G's product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.

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