Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.1% – Should You Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares shot up 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $167.29 and last traded at $166.32. 1,300,441 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 7,464,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PG. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $392.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.17%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 19,030.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,693,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,730,000 after acquiring an additional 3,674,286 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at about $301,950,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,016,000 after buying an additional 1,466,115 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by 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.