Gary A. Coombe Sells 21,388 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Stock

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total transaction of $3,528,592.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,080,172.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock opened at $166.07 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.57. The company has a market capitalization of $391.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $166.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 64.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

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.