Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 1.2% – Should You Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares were up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $169.38 and last traded at $167.98. Approximately 2,446,988 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 7,113,268 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PG shares. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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 report on Monday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.8 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $168.34 and its 200-day moving average is $169.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $396.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466,115 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 479,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,057,000 after purchasing an additional 29,799 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 35,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,141,000 after buying an additional 8,652 shares during the period. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 8,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 54,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,473,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.