Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 0.2% After Dividend Announcement

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) rose 0.2% on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $161.15 and last traded at $160.08. Approximately 2,432,942 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 6,257,596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.74.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, December 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.75.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.1 %

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $169.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $376.52 billion, a PE ratio of 27.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $338,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,110. The trade was a 12.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after buying an additional 689,282 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,567,556,000 after buying an additional 122,190 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,183,522,000 after acquiring an additional 830,476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.