Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 0.3% Following Insider Selling

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares fell 0.3% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $168.17 and last traded at $169.07. 1,069,970 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 7,489,991 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.66.

Specifically, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $391.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PG. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.