Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 1% – Here’s Why

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price fell 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $166.28 and last traded at $167.15. 1,294,870 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 7,145,640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.4 %

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 stock has a market cap of $394.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $168.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.