Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 1.5% - Should You Sell?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $164.63 and last traded at $165.39. Approximately 2,257,046 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 7,019,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.50.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $384.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $168.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PG. Saxony Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 6,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the first quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 53,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,159,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 33.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 10,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 2,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter valued at about $556,000. 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.

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