Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 1.9% – Time to Buy?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) traded up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $179.99 and last traded at $178.99. 4,522,034 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 6,294,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.11.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $166.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $405.72 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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 was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,432,000 after acquiring an additional 56,583 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 17.2% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.5% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 32,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,685,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 422,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,619,000 after buying an additional 37,609 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.