Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 0.5% After Dividend Announcement

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $159.47 and last traded at $159.15. Approximately 1,707,627 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 6,981,983 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.39.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Seven equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.00.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.9 %

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’s 50 day moving average price is $168.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $384.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released 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. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,524,976,000 after buying an additional 1,592,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,457,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,419 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,928,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,386,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209,275 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.