Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 3.1% – Should You Sell?

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)’s share price was down 3.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $146.46 and last traded at $146.7120. Approximately 9,976,945 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 11,047,775 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PG. UBS Group upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $177.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 3.1%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $340.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.37.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.36 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Jon R. Moeller sold 162,232 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.45, for a total value of $26,354,588.40. Following the sale, the chairman owned 319,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,884,093.25. This trade represents a 33.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 15,169 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.28, for a total transaction of $2,461,625.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 44,735 shares of the company’s stock, 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 valued at $55,462,643. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 594,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,409,000 after purchasing an additional 21,825 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at $4,796,000. Vega Investment Solutions raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vega Investment Solutions now owns 638,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,710,000 after buying an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.3% during the third quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 255,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,195,000 after buying an additional 17,400 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth about $7,891,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.