Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 1.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price was up 1.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $171.09 and last traded at $170.66. Approximately 2,150,720 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 6,397,558 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Finally, 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $399.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for 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%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Members Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $725,000. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $929,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 10,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Deegan Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $361,000. Finally, Lighthouse Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $331,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.