Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 1.1%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares were down 1.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $153.52 and last traded at $155.60. Approximately 3,855,815 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 6,818,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th 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 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 67.34%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PG. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 96,526.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,535,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,840,449,000 after buying an additional 38,495,676 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,956,117,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,320,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,717,246,000 after purchasing an additional 4,959,527 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,619,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,021,573,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 118.1% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,334,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $961,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,429,929 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.