Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 2.1% – Should You Buy?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shot up 2.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $179.99 and last traded at $179.65. 2,664,386 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 6,350,264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.11.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $413.02 billion, a PE ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,244,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,757 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,846,560 shares during the period. 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.