Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.7% Following Insider Selling

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) fell 0.7% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $171.23 and last traded at $171.38. 1,454,472 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 7,187,160 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.65.

Specifically, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PG. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.42.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $401.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $166.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.47.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.