Procter & Gamble Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:PG)

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 35,424 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 62% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,874 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $171.15 on Friday. Procter & Gamble has a 12-month low of $153.52 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $401.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. On average, equities 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 will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Hoey Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 95.3% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.