Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.6% – Here’s What Happened

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price fell 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $166.62 and last traded at $167.60. 1,495,349 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 7,527,751 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PG. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $167.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.81. The company has a market cap of $394.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.01%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,524,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,061 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,457,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,419 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,928,107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after buying an additional 689,282 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Procter & Gamble

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.