Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Up 0.2% - Time to Buy?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) shot up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $169.67 and last traded at $169.34. 577,336 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 6,713,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on PG. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $163.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $170.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.81. The company has a market cap of $400.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business's revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.31%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $338,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,783 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,110. This trade represents a 12.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. This trade represents a 3.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, 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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.