Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 2.6% – Here’s Why

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares fell 2.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $168.52 and last traded at $168.54. 2,767,969 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 6,389,594 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $394.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.82.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $5,244,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,240,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,846,560 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.