Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) rose 0% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $180.43 and last traded at $179.36. Approximately 5,522,912 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 6,737,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PG shares. DA Davidson upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $160.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $170.22 and a 200 day moving average of $168.90. The stock has a market cap of $422.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 7,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $1,202,751.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 269,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,203,373.80. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,110. This trade represents a 12.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,233 shares of company stock worth $6,024,234. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,300,000 after acquiring an additional 4,035 shares during the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $5,705,000. Welch Group LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 323,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,094,000 after acquiring an additional 2,990 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,005,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,213,403,000 after acquiring an additional 39,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 67.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 26,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,420,000 after acquiring an additional 10,777 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.