Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Time to Sell?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price fell 0.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $163.20 and last traded at $163.94. 1,504,481 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 7,483,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PG shares. Barclays upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $387.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21,657,595.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acorn Creek Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the third quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.