Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 0.7% – Time to Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) rose 0.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $170.19 and last traded at $170.19. Approximately 923,176 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 6,655,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PG. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target for the company. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.05.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $403.73 billion, a PE ratio of 28.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $171.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.66.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 66.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andre Schulten sold 13,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $2,216,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,325,360. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Andre Schulten sold 13,041 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $2,216,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,325,360. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total value of $76,149.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,212,043.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 383,194 shares of company stock worth $65,140,718 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 64.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.