Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 1%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares fell 1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $160.49 and last traded at $160.95. 1,357,335 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 6,900,545 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PG. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Argus boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $380.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $159.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 100,865 shares of company stock worth $16,029,280 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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.