Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.3% Following Dividend Announcement

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price was up 0.3% during trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $159.64 and last traded at $159.33. Approximately 1,295,809 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 6,145,146 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.84.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, December 27th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lowered shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.05.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $169.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.45. The company has a market capitalization of $378.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Costello Asset Management INC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at about $58,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.