Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.2% – Here’s Why

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price was down 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $166.61 and last traded at $167.77. Approximately 1,692,122 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 7,141,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Barclays raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $395.71 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $167.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,300,000 after purchasing an additional 4,035 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $569,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,898,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,583,000 after buying an additional 201,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 185,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,065,000 after purchasing an additional 6,077 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.