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

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) traded down 0.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $169.02 and last traded at $169.98. 1,036,995 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,657,775 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PG. DA Davidson upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $163.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $398.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The business's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 69.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 7,007 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $1,202,751.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 269,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,203,373.80. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,341 shares in the company, valued at $3,319,882.65. The trade was a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,080 shares of company stock worth $14,629,038 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, SK-II, and Native brands.