Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 0.5% - Time to Sell?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) traded down 0.5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $165.21 and last traded at $166.54. 943,411 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 7,141,684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $389.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is 64.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 9.7% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 61,227 shares of the company's stock worth $10,098,000 after purchasing an additional 5,402 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at about $3,312,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 937 shares of the company's stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Bridge Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth about $200,000. Finally, M&R Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,323 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,481,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is 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.