Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.2% – Should You Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price was up 0.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $168.43 and last traded at $168.00. Approximately 1,177,336 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 6,398,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.6 %

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 $390.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $167.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.76.

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 firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’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. The trade was a 34.36 % 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 quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.