Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0% – Time to Buy?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price shot up 0% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $166.50 and last traded at $166.01. 949,626 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 3,098,907 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $388.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.84.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $338,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,110. This trade represents a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth about $44,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.