Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.2% – Time to Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) rose 0.2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $179.69 and last traded at $179.64. Approximately 1,446,990 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 6,701,929 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. DA Davidson raised Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.5 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $170.64 and a 200 day moving average of $169.25. The firm has a market cap of $410.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.