Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 0.3% – Time to Sell?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares traded down 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $163.32 and last traded at $164.17. 1,413,807 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 7,468,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PG shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Eight equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.0 %

The stock has a market cap 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $168.85 and its 200 day 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 data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.17%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $33,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.