Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.4% Following Insider Selling

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price traded down 0.4% on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $168.44 and last traded at $168.96. 1,228,292 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 6,650,744 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.62.

Specifically, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $338,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,110. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on PG shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective for the company. Barclays downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Nine investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.00.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $397.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 64.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.