Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 0.8%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares were down 0.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $167.35 and last traded at $167.41. Approximately 1,047,068 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 6,627,386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.95.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $396.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.35, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.10.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.69%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total value of $12,342,475.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 263,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,002,649.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total transaction of $12,342,475.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares in the company, valued at $45,002,649.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 116,313 shares of company stock valued at $19,703,643. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $17,696,000. Campbell Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 26,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 29.0% during the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 43,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,010,000 after buying an additional 9,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 115,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,858,000 after acquiring an additional 15,599 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.