Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Gap Down to $169.93

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $169.93, but opened at $161.79. Procter & Gamble shares last traded at $159.47, with a volume of 3,279,271 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.29.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.81. The company has a market capitalization of $376.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $5,253,549.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,605,961.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total transaction of $3,528,592.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,080,172.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $5,253,549.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,605,961.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 94,320 shares of company stock valued at $15,646,323 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Nova R Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 233,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Mainsail Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Mainsail Financial Group LLC now owns 5,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 74.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 6,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.