Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Climb 1.6% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) shot up 1.6% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $149.68 and last traded at $148.3430. 11,232,239 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 16% from the average daily volume of 9,676,904 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $149.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, August 24th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $149.00 target price (down from $182.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.70.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $349.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $145.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.00.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.38 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 31.36% and a net margin of 18.44%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.890-7.110 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Paul Gama sold 2,225 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.34, for a total transaction of $323,381.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 51,124 shares in the company, valued at $7,430,362.16. This trade represents a 4.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Andre Schulten sold 3,914 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.34, for a total transaction of $568,860.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 65,618 shares in the company, valued at $9,536,920.12. This represents a 5.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 15,135 shares of company stock valued at $2,189,970 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $27,862,105,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,216,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,988,999,000 after acquiring an additional 965,461 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,850,628,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,281,505,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,797,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,704,182,000 after acquiring an additional 300,280 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.