Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.4% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) traded up 0.4% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $169.80 and last traded at $168.88. 3,077,321 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 6,654,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.16.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.89.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $398.58 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.63.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,319,882.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 7,007 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $1,202,751.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 269,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,203,373.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 383,194 shares of company stock worth $65,140,718. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,567,556,000 after buying an additional 122,190 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,552,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,546,302,000 after acquiring an additional 554,451 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 8.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,691,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,598,510,000 after purchasing an additional 733,440 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,161,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $999,705,000 after purchasing an additional 545,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,008,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,914,000 after purchasing an additional 79,665 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.