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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.11.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.0 %

PG stock opened at $175.50 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $411.52 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. Procter & Gamble has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.61.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 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.