Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) dropped 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $170.89 and last traded at $171.56. Approximately 1,423,495 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 6,659,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $159.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.21.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $405.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.96.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 3,373 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $573,410.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 21,513 shares in the company, valued at $3,657,210. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $76,149.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,043.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 3,373 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $573,410.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 21,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,657,210. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 383,194 shares of company stock valued at $65,140,718 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acorn Creek Capital LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the third quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the third quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.