Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 1.4% – What’s Next?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price fell 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $158.75 and last traded at $159.84. 2,286,284 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 5,811,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.75.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 1.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $169.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.64. The company has a market capitalization of $374.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This represents a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PG. Acorn Creek Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the third quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.