Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $167.86 and last traded at $167.6110, with a volume of 4,262,512 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $162.06.

More Procter & Gamble News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage points to P&G’s essential household brands as relatively resilient in an uncertain economy. Its long record of annual dividend increases—70 consecutive years—may also appeal to income-focused investors, particularly as inflation erodes purchasing power. Article: Nike vs. Procter & Gamble Article: P&G dividend history
• Neutral Sentiment: P&G closed a €3.25 billion euro-note offering. It raises financing, but the report does not explain the intended use of proceeds; the notes also represent debt obligations. Article: Euro note offering
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage warns that rising costs and shoppers’ search for value could pressure growth in P&G’s premium brands, despite customer loyalty and product innovation. Article: Premium brands in a value-seeking market
• Negative Sentiment: Several executives, including CEO Paul Gama and the chief accounting officer, disclosed share sales. Insider sales can weigh on sentiment, though they do not by themselves indicate the company’s outlook. Article: CEO share sale

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $164.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $145.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. HSBC cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $182.00 to $149.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Freedom Broker raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $176.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.57.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $150.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.12.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 23rd will be paid a $1.0885 dividend. This represents a $4.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 23rd. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.51%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.09, for a total value of $5,708,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,033,718.19. This represents a 38.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Victor Aguilar sold 18,812 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.43, for a total transaction of $3,093,257.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 55,243 shares in the company, valued at $9,083,606.49. This trade represents a 25.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 128,085 shares of company stock valued at $20,696,098. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at about $27,862,105,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,850,628,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,281,505,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of 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

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.