Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Up 1.2% – Should You Buy?

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)’s stock price was up 1.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $159.65 and last traded at $158.6970. Approximately 12,940,018 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 7% from the average daily volume of 12,085,907 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $174.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.00.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $368.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $145.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.32.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 32.21%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.830-7.090 EPS. Analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 95,903 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.15, for a total transaction of $14,495,738.45. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 182,607 shares in the company, valued at $27,601,048.05. This represents a 34.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total transaction of $1,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,038,218. The trade was a 54.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 103,904 shares of company stock worth $15,759,885 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 65.1% during 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. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Procter & Gamble

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.