Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 0.5% After Insider Selling

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) shares dropped 0.5% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $159.42 and last traded at $160.64. Approximately 1,437,864 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 6,895,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.50.

Specifically, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on PG shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.81.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.7 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $159.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.32. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $383.71 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in 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.