Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 0.1% After Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares rose 0.1% on Thursday after Argus raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $185.00. Argus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $164.32 and last traded at $162.77. Approximately 2,044,863 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 6,908,812 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.60.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PG. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 1st quarter worth about $2,291,000. Narwhal Capital Management lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 5.5% during the first quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 91,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,782,000 after purchasing an additional 4,777 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Bancshares Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the first quarter. Northwest Bancshares Inc. now owns 51,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 14.0% in the first quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 43,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,125,000 after purchasing an additional 5,407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.8 %

The company has a market cap of $380.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.51.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

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.