Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.3% – Should You Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price shot up 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $160.30 and last traded at $160.05. 1,203,451 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 6,320,027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PG. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. 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. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.50.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $376.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.52.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $338,640.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,110. This trade represents a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. Acorn Creek Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the third quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the third quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.