Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 0.7% – What’s Next?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.6 %

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

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. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,524,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,457,000,000 after buying an additional 1,267,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,928,107,000 after buying an additional 2,703,757 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted 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 worth $4,599,554,000 after buying an additional 689,282 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.