Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Should You Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) rose 0.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $169.67 and last traded at $169.37. Approximately 1,286,242 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 8,072,465 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PG. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.50.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $400.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $168.37 and a 200-day moving average of $168.52.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.20%.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 288,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,106,000 after purchasing an additional 58,331 shares in the last quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the first quarter valued at $608,000. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 55,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,467,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.8% during the first quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 38,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,574,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the first quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 7,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is 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.