Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) were down 0.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $169.51 and last traded at $170.22. Approximately 1,228,192 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 6,648,247 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.00.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.49. The company has a market capitalization of $401.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $16,320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,570. This trade represents a 87.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 14,034 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.78, for a total value of $2,382,692.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,351.68. This represents a 58.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 270,727 shares of company stock valued at $46,014,037 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Acorn Creek Capital LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.