Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 1.9% – Should You Sell?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares traded down 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $162.20 and last traded at $162.57. 1,893,869 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 6,476,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $168.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.58. The company has a market cap of $381.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, 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 worth $23,988,008. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently 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.