Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 0.7% – Time to Sell?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) fell 0.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $166.24 and last traded at $166.45. 4,008,907 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 6,429,379 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PG. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $390.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $167.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.69.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,432,000 after purchasing an additional 56,583 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. United Bank increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,315,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.