Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.3% – Should You Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $167.60 and last traded at $166.66. Approximately 935,229 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 7,303,860 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight 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. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.39. The company has a market cap of $394.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 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 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. 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 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Procter & Gamble

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.