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

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s stock price was down 0.8% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $167.77 and last traded at $168.80. Approximately 3,372,035 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 6,633,736 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.08.

Specifically, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 3,373 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $573,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 21,513 shares in the company, valued at $3,657,210. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,288 shares of company stock valued at $8,895,638. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $179.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.95.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $401.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.33% and a net margin of 17.71%. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the fourth 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,556,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,547,021,000 after acquiring an additional 559,358 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,571,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,402,636,000 after purchasing an additional 246,323 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,492,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,390,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387,539 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Procter & Gamble

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.