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

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) fell 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $168.31 and last traded at $168.42. 948,791 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 7,126,514 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $167.30 and a 200 day moving average of $169.40.

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. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This 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 Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $1,010,685,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 19,030.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,693,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,730,000 after buying an additional 3,674,286 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 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.