Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.3%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price dropped 0.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $172.64 and last traded at $172.68. Approximately 759,058 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 6,663,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. BNP Paribas assumed 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 for the company. TD Cowen assumed 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 for the company. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.89.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.4 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $170.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.97. 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 company has a market cap of $407.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 13,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,043.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 375,553 shares of company stock worth $63,829,141 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.7% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 61,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,098,000 after buying an additional 5,402 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.5% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 83,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,771,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 31.4% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 917 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth approximately $1,173,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth approximately $19,519,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It 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, and SK-II brands.