Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.2% – What’s Next?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was down 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $166.61 and last traded at $167.77. Approximately 1,692,122 shares traded hands 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 research analysts have commented on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $393.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for 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 was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

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

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.