Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Up 1.4% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares rose 1.4% intraday to about $144.76, and Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” (12 Buys, 9 Holds) and an average price target of $167.83, after upgrades and target increases from Jefferies, UBS and JPMorgan.
• Procter & Gamble reported Q1 EPS of $1.88 (a $0.02 beat) with revenue of $22.21 billion (slightly below estimates), trades at a P/E of 21.45 with a market cap of $336.4B, and pays a quarterly dividend of $1.0568 (annualized $4.23) for a yield of about 2.9%.
• Insider activity shows notable selling: insiders disposed of 348,618 shares worth roughly $55.5 million over the last 90 days, leaving corporate insiders with about 0.20% ownership.

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $145.57 and last traded at $144.7630. Approximately 11,373,045 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 11,696,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Procter & Gamble from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $167.83.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.4%

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $153.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $336.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 15,169 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.28, for a total value of $2,461,625.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 44,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,259,595.80. This represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 36,093 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.33, for a total transaction of $5,858,976.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 34,994 shares in the company, valued at $5,680,576.02. The trade was a 50.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 348,618 shares of company stock worth $55,462,643 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,315.4% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 184 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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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