Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.3% – What’s Next?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares fell 0.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $169.17 and last traded at $169.94. 1,302,343 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 7,692,136 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.00.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $398.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.27.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % 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, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,031,000 after purchasing an additional 608,168 shares during the period. United Bank raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 138.7% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.