Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shot up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $166.33 and last traded at $166.22. 1,299,091 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 7,057,422 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $389.86 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.46.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,300,000 after acquiring an additional 4,035 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,374,000 after buying an additional 1,818 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $569,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,568 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.