Investors Buy Large Volume of Procter & Gamble Call Options (NYSE:PG)

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 42,639 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 67% compared to the average daily volume of 25,592 call options.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $170.49 on Tuesday. Procter & Gamble has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $399.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.29.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,031,000 after purchasing an additional 608,168 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 55,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,609,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,727,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.82.

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.