Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.8%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares were down 0.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $171.15 and last traded at $171.74. Approximately 1,460,343 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 6,656,906 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.89.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $171.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $405.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $16,320,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,332,570. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 375,553 shares of company stock valued at $63,829,141. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 64.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.