Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) traded up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $179.01 and last traded at $177.52. 1,645,392 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 6,721,701 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $422.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares in the company, valued at $3,319,882.65. The trade was a 3.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. The trade was a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,233 shares of company stock valued at $6,024,234. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, SK-II, and Native brands.