Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.1%

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $166.94 and last traded at $167.39. Approximately 971,939 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 6,456,576 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $163.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.64. The firm has a market cap of $396.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at $634,634. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 9,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.72, for a total value of $1,534,470.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,451.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total value of $135,517.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 64.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It 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, and SK-II brands.