Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.1% on Insider Selling

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares dropped 0.1% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $162.22 and last traded at $163.08. Approximately 1,647,706 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 6,877,036 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.20.

Specifically, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,865 shares of company stock worth $14,059,180 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on PG. Argus upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $386.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $159.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.91.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.85%.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $3,956,117,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,943,000 after buying an additional 3,159,796 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13,850.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,747,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 235.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,231,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,475,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268,805 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It 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, and SK-II brands.