Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 1.8%

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shot up 1.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $171.56 and last traded at $171.05. 1,958,401 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 6,654,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. Dbs Bank cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $179.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.95.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.50. The stock has a market cap of $401.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.33%. The company’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 9,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.72, for a total transaction of $1,534,470.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,451.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,179,061.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 53,288 shares of company stock worth $8,895,638. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $3,956,117,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,943,000 after acquiring an additional 3,159,796 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 114.9% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,568,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907,716 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 1st quarter worth about $233,788,000. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $228,212,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.