Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.7% - Should You Sell?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 0.7% on Monday . The company traded as low as $166.71 and last traded at $166.88. 952,649 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 6,730,623 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson raised 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 research note on Monday, November 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $395.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.81.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total value of $2,163,072.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This represents a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,080 shares of company stock worth $14,629,038 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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.