Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.7% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares traded up 0.7% on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $159.00 to $165.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $168.87 and last traded at $167.77. 1,653,278 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 6,465,882 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.58.

PG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.82.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,812,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tevis Investment Management increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $395.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.