Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Shares Down 1.7% - Time to Sell?

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 1.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $161.31 and last traded at $162.32. Approximately 1,868,976 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 4,062,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 2.7 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $170.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $378.24 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total value of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This represents a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.