Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 1.9% – Here’s Why

Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) dropped 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $150.33 and last traded at $150.3560. Approximately 8,471,919 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 11,412,956 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $157.00 to $165.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $177.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.03. The firm has a market cap of $349.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.37.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 62.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,827 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total value of $2,056,296.37. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,026,158.09. The trade was a 50.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 36,093 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.33, for a total value of $5,858,976.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,680,576.02. The trade was a 50.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 348,618 shares of company stock worth $55,462,643. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Carson Advisory Inc. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 12,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. WP Advisors LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.9% in the second quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 1,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 6,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emprise Bank raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.5% in the third quarter. Emprise Bank now owns 2,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.