Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 2.6% – Still a Buy?

by · The Markets Daily

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PGGet Free Report) traded up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $145.11 and last traded at $145.00. 10,844,115 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 11,445,900 shares. The stock had previously closed at $141.30.

Key Stories Impacting Procter & Gamble

Here are the key news stories impacting Procter & Gamble this week:

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $159.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $156.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $162.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.79.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 2.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $336.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $153.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PGGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 32.21%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 62.67%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 15,169 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.28, for a total transaction of $2,461,625.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,259,595.80. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 95,903 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.15, for a total transaction of $14,495,738.45. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 182,607 shares in the company, valued at $27,601,048.05. This trade represents a 34.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 348,618 shares of company stock valued at $55,462,643 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 40,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,717,000 after acquiring an additional 13,617 shares during the period. Taylor Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Taylor Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Auxano Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 7,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 30,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,809,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Procter & Gamble

(Get Free Report)

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.

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