Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Reaches New 52-Week High at $164.81

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $164.81 and last traded at $164.81, with a volume of 2150 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on PG. UBS Group raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $5,253,549.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,605,961.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 118,724 shares of company stock valued at $19,312,729. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Qsemble Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 31.9% during the 1st quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 7,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,908 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 6.5% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 410,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,542,000 after acquiring an additional 24,915 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the first quarter valued at about $2,869,000. Capital Square LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.2% in the first quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 10,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 31,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.