Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.1% – Should You Buy?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $167.29 and last traded at $166.32. Approximately 1,300,441 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 7,464,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $392.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $168.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 177.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.2% during the second quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.5% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 13,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,155,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.4% during the second quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 18,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,006,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Aldebaran Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the second quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 13,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,180,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.