Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 0.1% – Still a Buy?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shot up 0.1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $160.09 and last traded at $158.77. 1,592,035 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 6,076,144 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, September 30th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.75.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $375.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $169.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.61.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $338,640.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,110. This represents a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 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.