Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Sets New 1-Year High at $177.15

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $177.15 and last traded at $177.05, with a volume of 341441 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $179.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.79.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 2.2 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $169.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.69%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 37,240 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.89, for a total transaction of $6,289,463.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,508,763.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 37,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.89, for a total transaction of $6,289,463.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 263,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,508,763.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 375,553 shares of company stock valued at $63,829,141 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 64.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.