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

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders bought 32,103 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 38% compared to the typical volume of 23,211 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DZ Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.00.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. This represents a 3.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $16,320,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,570. The trade was a 87.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,597 shares of company stock worth $53,268,499. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PG. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 79,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,740,000 after purchasing an additional 22,230 shares during the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 26,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,544,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 26.9% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 122,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,138,000 after buying an additional 25,900 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 138.7% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harmony Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 37.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE PG traded up $2.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $169.75. The stock had a trading volume of 3,424,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,646,351. Procter & Gamble has a 52-week low of $142.50 and a 52-week high of $177.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.27. The company has a market cap of $399.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.