Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.7% – Should You Sell?

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.25.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $386.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.11, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $168.96 and its 200 day moving average is $169.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 64.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. 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.