Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.2% - Here's What Happened

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) shares fell 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $166.61 and last traded at $167.77. 1,692,122 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 7,141,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business's 50-day moving average price is $167.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.41. The firm has a market cap of $395.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is 64.17%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company's 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 $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,016,000 after buying an additional 1,466,115 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.6% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 479,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,057,000 after purchasing an additional 29,799 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.0% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.1% in the third quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 16,100 shares of the company's stock worth $2,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,479 shares during the period. Finally, Eastover Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,660,000 after buying an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Procter & Gamble

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.

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