Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 0.4% – Time to Sell?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) dropped 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $166.71 and last traded at $166.90. Approximately 853,297 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 6,696,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $170.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.83. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $388.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This trade represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the company’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 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. Insiders sold a total of 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after purchasing an additional 689,282 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,567,556,000 after purchasing an additional 122,190 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after buying an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,183,522,000 after acquiring an additional 830,476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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.