Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 1% – Time to Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price shot up 1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $165.16 and last traded at $164.58. 2,017,342 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 7,085,845 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upped 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.17%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,244,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $1,010,685,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $639,730,000 after buying an additional 3,674,286 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,757 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.