Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 22,387,940 shares, a decline of 13.6% from the February 12th total of 25,908,742 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 11,583,770 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 11,583,770 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $177.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.4%

Procter & Gamble stock traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $151.58. The stock had a trading volume of 2,994,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,076,486. The company has a market capitalization of $352.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.51. Procter & Gamble has a one year low of $137.62 and a one year high of $174.80. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $153.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.93.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 32.21%. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 1,809 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total value of $288,463.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,818,083.90. This represents a 5.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 15,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.28, for a total value of $2,461,625.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 44,735 shares in the company, valued at $7,259,595.80. This represents a 25.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 348,618 shares of company stock worth $55,462,643. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PG. Cornerstone Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $3,084,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,109,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,965,000 after acquiring an additional 114,301 shares during the period. Lane Brothers & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $293,000. World Investment Advisors increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 105,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,179,000 after acquiring an additional 14,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Demming Financial Services Corp ADV bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $256,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.