Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 1.2% – Should You Buy?

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)’s stock price rose 1.2% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $153.25 and last traded at $153.0910. 6,215,139 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 9,654,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $146.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, September 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.70.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $355.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 31.36%. The company had revenue of $21.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.890-7.110 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were given a dividend of $1.0885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $4.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.71%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Whaley sold 2,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.34, for a total value of $344,310.46. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,730 shares in the company, valued at $4,466,298.20. The trade was a 7.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Paul Gama sold 2,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.34, for a total value of $323,381.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,430,362.16. The trade was a 4.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,135 shares of company stock valued at $2,189,970. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,862,105,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,850,628,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,281,505,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,480,650,000. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14,231.0% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,549,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,700,000 after purchasing an additional 3,524,876 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) is a consumer products company that develops, manufactures and markets branded products used in households and personal care routines. Its portfolio includes products in categories such as beauty, grooming, health care, fabric and home care, and family care.

Major brands associated with Procter & Gamble include Pampers, Tide, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Oral-B, Crest, Olay, Old Spice, Febreze, Mr. Clean, Swiffer and Bounty. The company sells its products through retailers, e-commerce platforms and other distribution channels.

Founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, the company has grown into a global consumer goods business serving customers in markets around the world.