Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG)

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 35,424 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 62% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,874 call options.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG traded up $0.24 on Wednesday, hitting $169.67. 2,783,895 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,959,618. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.44. Procter & Gamble has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The firm has a market cap of $397.86 billion, a PE ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth about $33,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 95.3% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.