Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 2.1% After Analyst Upgrade

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shot up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $188.00 to $190.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as high as $176.49 and last traded at $176.45. 2,250,734 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 6,650,751 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.75.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays cut Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total value of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This trade represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 87,979 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.40, for a total value of $14,991,621.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 300,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,252,400.80. This trade represents a 22.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 160,693 shares of company stock worth $27,311,345 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Acorn Creek Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the third quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Traveka Wealth LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $415.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $170.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.64.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.