The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Declares Dividend Increase – $1.01 Per Share

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 9th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of 1.0065 per share on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94.

Procter & Gamble has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 68 consecutive years. Procter & Gamble has a payout ratio of 54.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Procter & Gamble to earn $6.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.3%.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE PG opened at $155.95 on Wednesday. Procter & Gamble has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $163.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.77. The firm has a market cap of $366.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.48 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aspect Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at $50,000. MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $83,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $109,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the first quarter valued at $111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.