Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 1.5% – Still a Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price traded up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $165.15 and last traded at $165.30. 1,714,284 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 6,456,677 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $388.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $594,000. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $485,000. M1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $347,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $5,899,000. Finally, Chancellor Financial Group WB LP acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $1,500,000. 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.