Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.7%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares dropped 0.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $162.16 and last traded at $162.69. Approximately 1,507,384 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 6,868,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a market cap of $388.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $159.94 and a 200 day moving average of $154.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.69%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,483.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,483.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moreno Evelyn V lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Moreno Evelyn V now owns 54,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the third quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 13,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,025,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Lawrence B grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cohen Lawrence B now owns 20,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,973,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Busey Trust CO lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Busey Trust CO now owns 194,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 8,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 2,971 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.