Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 0.5% on Insider Selling

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

Specifically, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 103,771 shares of company stock valued at $16,292,467. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.88.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $382.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PG. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.