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

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 35,424 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 62% compared to the typical volume of 21,874 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,300,000 after purchasing an additional 4,035 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at about $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $569,000. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,764,000 after buying an additional 2,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,898,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,583,000 after acquiring an additional 201,695 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $169.67. 2,783,895 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,959,618. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $166.94 and its 200 day moving average is $169.44. Procter & Gamble has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $397.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PG shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lowered 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research 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 MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

About Procter & Gamble

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.