Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price traded down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $178.28 and last traded at $178.43. Approximately 879,919 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 6,711,996 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $422.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91, a PEG ratio of 3.86 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. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $170.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.09.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 69.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,319,882.65. The trade was a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $338,640.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,110. The trade was a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,233 shares of company stock valued at $6,024,234. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.