Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Climb 1.5% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) shot up 1.5% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $164.36 and last traded at $163.9920. 9,685,882 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 0% from the average daily volume of 9,731,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.57.

Procter & Gamble News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Procter & Gamble this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Following the midterm elections, investors have favored established dividend payers such as P&G. The company’s recent quarter showed resilience: earnings and revenue topped consensus estimates, while sales grew 4% year over year. Article: Dividend Kings reach 52-week highs
• Positive Sentiment: P&G’s pricing power and strong brand loyalty may help it preserve sales and dividend purchasing power while inflation remains above 3%. It has raised its dividend for 70 consecutive years, reinforcing its appeal to income-focused investors. Article: Dividend stocks with pricing power
• Neutral Sentiment: P&G closed a €3.25 billion euro-note offering. The financing raises capital, but also entails debt obligations; the report did not detail how proceeds will be used. Article: Euro note offering
• Negative Sentiment: Rising costs and value-conscious shoppers could pressure growth in P&G’s premium brands, even as innovation and customer loyalty remain strengths. Article: Premium brands in a value-seeking market
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders, including executives and the chief accounting officer, recently reported share sales. These transactions may concern investors, though sales alone do not necessarily signal a negative view of the company. Article: CEO share sale

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PG. Barclays lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $149.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, October 23rd. DZ Bank lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $164.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.57.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $387.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.23.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $23.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.80 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 31.02% and a net margin of 18.23%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.99 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.0885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 38,253 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $6,311,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,877,925. The trade was a 44.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.09, for a total transaction of $5,708,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,033,718.19. This represents a 38.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 128,085 shares of company stock valued at $20,696,098. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Paladin Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $29,000. Toews Corp ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the first quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) is a global consumer products company that develops, manufactures and markets branded products used in households and personal care. Its portfolio includes personal health and grooming products, beauty and skin care items, baby, feminine and family care products, fabric and home care products, and oral care products.

The company’s well-known brands include Pampers, Tide, Gillette, Crest, Oral-B, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Olay, Old Spice, Dawn, Febreze and Mr.