Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Trading Down 0.6%

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares dropped 0.6% on Monday . The company traded as low as $163.43 and last traded at $163.47. Approximately 1,228,106 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 6,851,735 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PG. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.4 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $160.23 and a 200-day moving average of $154.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $389.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm 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 was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.69%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total transaction of $3,528,592.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,080,172.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,859 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $5,253,549.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,605,961.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total transaction of $3,528,592.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,080,172.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,112 shares of company stock valued at $22,841,321 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047,557 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,313,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,616,000 after buying an additional 670,862 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,552,000 after purchasing an additional 206,165 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,629,299,000 after purchasing an additional 346,925 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.