The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Short Interest Update

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was the target of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,760,000 shares, a drop of 13.9% from the November 30th total of 20,620,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,840,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $338,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,110. This trade represents a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 7,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $1,202,751.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 269,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,203,373.80. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 83,080 shares of company stock worth $14,629,038. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays downgraded Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $169.53 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $399.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $170.47 and its 200 day moving average is $169.88. Procter & Gamble has a 52 week low of $145.04 and a 52 week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.31%.

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.