Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 0.7% – Here’s Why

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) fell 0.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $166.71 and last traded at $166.88. 952,649 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 6,730,623 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $170.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $392.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.31%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,319,882.65. This represents a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $338,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,110. The trade was a 12.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,080 shares of company stock worth $14,629,038 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,674,286 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 16,292.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 3,675,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $606,230,000 after buying an additional 3,653,477 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at about $301,950,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.