Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Here’s What Happened

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price was down 0.7% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $166.24 and last traded at $166.45. Approximately 4,008,907 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 6,429,379 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PG shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $391.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.76.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,524,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,457,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,419 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,928,107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after acquiring an additional 689,282 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.