The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Insider Sells $4,581,309.81 in Stock

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of PG stock traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $162.58. 7,216,558 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,971,658. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $163.14. The stock has a market cap of $383.71 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.44. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $159.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.32.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the first quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 15,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,469,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the first quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the first quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 32,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,197,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 24.1% in the first quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 87,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,132,000 after buying an additional 16,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1,050.2% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 109,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,708,000 after buying an additional 99,649 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.88.

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.