Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 1.3% After Strong Earnings

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was up 1.3% on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $160.72 and last traded at $160.27. Approximately 2,592,370 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 6,872,382 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.14.

The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.77%. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PG. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.76.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,943,835.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $3,956,117,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,943,000 after acquiring an additional 3,159,796 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,193,916,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047,557 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 13,850.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,747,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,727,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 235.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,231,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,475,000 after acquiring an additional 2,268,805 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $377.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It 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, and SK-II brands.