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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $387.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $160.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.25.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,865 shares of company stock worth $14,059,180 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 109,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,412 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 5.4% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 24,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,008,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Mittelman Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter worth approximately $843,000. TFG Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.5% in the first quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 21,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,504,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 64.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.