Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.3% – Time to Sell?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price was down 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $168.31 and last traded at $168.42. Approximately 948,791 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 7,126,514 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $167.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466,115 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 479,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,057,000 after acquiring an additional 29,799 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 293,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,908,000 after buying an additional 5,258 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 58,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,095,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reliant Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 7,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after buying an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.