Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Here’s Why

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price fell 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $170.89 and last traded at $171.56. 1,423,495 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 6,659,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.21.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $171.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $403.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.69%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,319,882.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 383,194 shares of company stock valued at $65,140,718. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 16,292.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 3,675,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $606,230,000 after acquiring an additional 3,653,477 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 114.9% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,568,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,017,000 after acquiring an additional 1,907,716 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466,115 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the first quarter worth $233,788,000. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the first quarter worth $228,212,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.