Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 2.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) traded up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $169.77 and last traded at $170.23. 1,665,178 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 7,037,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.50.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 3.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $402.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $168.31 and a 200 day moving average of $168.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 67.20%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,031,000 after purchasing an additional 608,168 shares in the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Invst LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 15,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,752,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at about $1,632,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.