Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 0.6% on Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares were up 0.6% during trading on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $165.00 to $168.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $156.70 and last traded at $156.30. Approximately 1,127,749 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 6,798,639 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.33.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $149,160.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $159.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.48 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.59 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 62.98%.

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.