Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) were down 0.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $173.08 and last traded at $174.20. Approximately 1,292,400 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 6,319,970 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.11.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.77.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,374,000 after buying an additional 1,818 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $569,000. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,898,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,583,000 after buying an additional 201,695 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.