Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Climb 1.9% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Procter & Gamble shares rose 1.9% to about $150.60 on increased trading volume, bringing the company’s market capitalization to approximately $349.8 billion.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with 14 Buy and 10 Hold ratings and an average price target of $161.70, suggesting potential upside from the current price.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, slightly exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 1.5% year over year but fell short of expectations. P&G also pays an annualized dividend of $4.35 per share, yielding about 2.9%.

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 1.9% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $150.76 and last traded at $150.5980. Approximately 10,051,881 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 9,684,540 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on PG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $149.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. HSBC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $149.00 price target (down from $182.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $146.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Fourteen 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.70.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.9%

The company has a market cap of $349.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $145.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.38 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 31.36%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.890-7.110 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were given a $1.0885 dividend. This represents a $4.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 4,030 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.79, for a total value of $579,473.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 187,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,888,873.79. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO Matthew W. Janzaruk sold 359 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.24, for a total value of $52,141.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,600.04. This trade represents a 22.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 15,135 shares of company stock valued at $2,189,970 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,862,105,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,850,628,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at $2,281,505,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,480,650,000. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1,104.8% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 9,521,440 shares of the company's stock worth $1,364,518,000 after purchasing an additional 8,731,126 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company NYSE: PG is a consumer products company that develops, manufactures and markets branded products used in households and personal care routines. Its portfolio includes products in categories such as beauty, grooming, health care, fabric and home care, and family care.

Major brands associated with Procter & Gamble include Pampers, Tide, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Oral-B, Crest, Olay, Old Spice, Febreze, Mr. Clean, Swiffer and Bounty. The company sells its products through retailers, e-commerce platforms and other distribution channels.

Founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, the company has grown into a global consumer goods business serving customers in markets around the world.

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