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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on PG. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.2 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $392.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $167.58 and its 200 day moving average is $169.78.

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. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % 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 valued at $23,988,008 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,812,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tevis Investment Management raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by 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.