Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.2% - Should You Sell?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $165.67 and last traded at $166.31. Approximately 1,046,989 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 6,459,179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $159.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.82.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $394.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company's 50 day moving average is $168.31 and its 200 day moving average is $169.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company's stock worth $1,442,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company's stock worth $820,031,000 after buying an additional 608,168 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in 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. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth about $824,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 61,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,680,000 after acquiring an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.