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

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was up 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $176.23 and last traded at $175.77. Approximately 1,113,768 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 6,702,682 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $170.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.29. The firm has a market cap of $413.87 billion, a PE ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,319,882.65. This represents a 3.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. The trade was a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 83,080 shares of company stock worth $14,629,038. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.