Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 0.3%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares dropped 0.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $172.64 and last traded at $172.68. Approximately 759,058 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 6,663,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.89.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a market cap of $410.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $170.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.06.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 65.69%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $16,320,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,570. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,451.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,553 shares of company stock valued at $63,829,141 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alera Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 5,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Home Federal Bank of Tennessee raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.3% in the second quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee now owns 23,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,846,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.