Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 1.3% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price was up 1.3% during trading on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $160.72 and last traded at $160.27. Approximately 2,592,370 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 6,872,382 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.14.

The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.77%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the 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 owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total value of $135,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 103,771 shares of company stock valued at $16,292,467 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,193,916,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047,557 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,313,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,616,000 after buying an additional 670,862 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,552,000 after buying an additional 206,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,629,299,000 after buying an additional 346,925 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.6 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $159.32 and its 200-day moving average is $153.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44.

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.