Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) were down 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $173.08 and last traded at $174.20. Approximately 1,292,400 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 6,319,970 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PG. Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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 on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.11.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $409.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $166.64 and a 200 day moving average of $169.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted 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 return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PG. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.5% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,300,000 after purchasing an additional 4,035 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,818 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $569,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568 shares in 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.