Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) rose 0.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $172.78 and last traded at $172.09. Approximately 1,317,898 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 6,664,009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.5 %

The company has a market cap of $401.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $170.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.75.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS 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 business had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.31%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total value of $2,163,072.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This trade represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 83,080 shares of company stock valued at $14,629,038. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Security Financial Services INC. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.6% during the second quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 4,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.9% in the second quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.9% during the second quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 11,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,978,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 17.3% in the second quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the period. Finally, Inlet Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.