Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price rose 0.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $166.35 and last traded at $165.86. Approximately 752,278 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 6,624,185 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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 Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $182.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $159.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.00.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $171.70 and its 200-day moving average is $167.84. The company has a market capitalization of $390.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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 Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $16,320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,570. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total value of $76,149.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,212,043.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $16,320,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,570. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 389,144 shares of company stock worth $66,184,385. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 64.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, SK-II, and Native brands.