Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) were down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $167.96 and last traded at $168.36. Approximately 1,308,607 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 6,464,440 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.82.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.2 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.46. 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 company has a market cap of $394.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

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. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,031,000 after purchasing an additional 608,168 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,315,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at about $824,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.5% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 61,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,680,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.