Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 1.3% – Still a Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) traded up 1.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $170.35 and last traded at $170.17. 1,801,737 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 6,869,987 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.82.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.27. The company has a market cap of $400.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors 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 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,833,000 after acquiring an additional 2,179 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,818 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth about $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $569,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,764,000 after buying an additional 2,568 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.