Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Still a Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares shot up 0.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $162.61 and last traded at $161.35. 1,702,558 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 5,182,462 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PG shares. Barclays cut shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.75.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $381.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $169.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $338,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,110. This represents a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PG. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 19,030.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,693,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,730,000 after buying an additional 3,674,286 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 16,292.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 3,675,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $606,230,000 after acquiring an additional 3,653,477 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at $301,950,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.