Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 1.8% Higher – Time to Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price was up 1.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $173.22 and last traded at $173.63. Approximately 1,720,744 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 7,183,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.42.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $166.02 and its 200-day moving average is $169.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $404.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.01%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,244,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after buying an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,240,294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,846,560 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.