Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $185.00. The stock had previously closed at $169.50, but opened at $174.23. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble shares last traded at $170.90, with a volume of 1,732,554 shares.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,818 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $569,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 5.0 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $169.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.