Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 0.1% – Here’s What Happened

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price fell 0.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $168.83 and last traded at $169.64. 940,311 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 6,400,265 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $393.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.81.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,524,976,000 after buying an additional 1,592,061 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,457,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,928,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after purchasing an additional 689,282 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.