Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 0.8% – What’s Next?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) fell 0.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $166.03 and last traded at $167.17. 1,443,613 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,404,591 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,244,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,846,560 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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.