Procter & Gamble Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:PG)

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 43,550 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 79% compared to the average volume of 24,262 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.11.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 7,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 221.5% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 216,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,306,000 after buying an additional 149,190 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 8,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. American Investment Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. American Investment Services Inc. now owns 5,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $196,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock opened at $173.02 on Wednesday. Procter & Gamble has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $405.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.65.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.01%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.