Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 1% – Still a Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price traded up 1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $165.16 and last traded at $164.58. 2,017,342 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 7,085,845 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $387.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.50.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,300,000 after buying an additional 4,035 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,818 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth about $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $569,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.