Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price was up 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $169.18 and last traded at $168.94. Approximately 2,460,756 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 6,738,386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PG. DZ Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $400.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $170.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.81.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $338,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,110. This trade represents a 12.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $108,826.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,319,882.65. This represents a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 83,080 shares of company stock valued at $14,629,038. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 22,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Centerpoint Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13.1% during the second quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. WMG Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 25.6% during the second quarter. WMG Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.7% during the second quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 5,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $830,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth about $934,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, SK-II, and Native brands.