Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.7%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price traded down 0.7% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $165.50 and last traded at $165.60. 910,245 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 6,485,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.74.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $390.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 9,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were 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 owns 12,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,451.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 9,149 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.72, for a total transaction of $1,534,470.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,451.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 64.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.