Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price rose 0.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $161.75 and last traded at $161.39. Approximately 2,283,755 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 6,362,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised 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. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $163.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $379.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. 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 $169.37 and its 200-day moving average is $169.45.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other 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 transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.