Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading 0.6% Higher - Time to Buy?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) rose 0.6% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $161.75 and last traded at $161.39. Approximately 2,283,755 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 6,362,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PG shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, December 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $379.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $169.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.39.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,110. This represents a 12.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company's stock worth $4,599,554,000 after buying an additional 689,282 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,567,556,000 after acquiring an additional 122,190 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company's stock worth $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company's stock worth $3,183,522,000 after purchasing an additional 830,476 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.