Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 1.6% – Time to Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price was up 1.6% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $177.51 and last traded at $177.50. Approximately 2,069,390 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 6,326,481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.11.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.8 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $166.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.77. The company has a market cap of $412.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,812,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tevis Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.