Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Announces Earnings Results

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) issued its earnings results on Friday. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10, Briefing.com reports. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Procter & Gamble updated its FY 2024 guidance to 6.490-6.550 EPS.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PG traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $158.14. The company had a trading volume of 12,034,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,329,782. The company has a market capitalization of $372.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Procter & Gamble has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $163.14.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 96,526.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,535,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,840,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,495,676 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $3,752,321,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,320,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,717,246,000 after purchasing an additional 4,959,527 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,619,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,021,573,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426,269 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 118.1% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,334,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $961,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,429,929 shares during the period. 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.