Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.6% – Should You Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price traded up 0.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $161.75 and last traded at $161.39. 2,283,755 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 6,362,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $163.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.5 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.38. The company has a market capitalization of $379.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at $1,954,538.34. This represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.