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

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price rose 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $169.29 and last traded at $168.89. Approximately 1,500,982 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 6,406,835 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $395.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $167.16 and a 200 day moving average of $169.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. 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.