Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 2.6% – Here’s Why

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price dropped 2.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $168.52 and last traded at $168.54. Approximately 2,767,969 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 6,389,594 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $394.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $167.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,432,000 after acquiring an additional 56,583 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,031,000 after buying an additional 608,168 shares in the last quarter. United Bank grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 5,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.