Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Stock Price Down 1% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Procter & Gamble shares fell about 1% intraday after Bank of America cut its price target from $171 to $167 while maintaining a buy rating; the stock traded as low as $142.63 and last traded at $143.66 on notably lighter volume (7.1M, down 37%).
• Analysts have broadly trimmed price targets but remain positive overall, with 12 firms rating the stock a Buy, 10 at Hold, and an average target of $163.89.
• Insiders have been net sellers in the past 90 days (348,618 shares worth about $55.5M), even as large institutional investors boosted positions—Norges Bank bought a new stake worth roughly $4.66B—leaving institutional ownership at ~65.8%.

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) fell 1% during mid-day trading on Monday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $171.00 to $167.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble traded as low as $142.63 and last traded at $143.66. 7,107,657 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 11,292,053 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.16.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $167.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $164.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $163.89.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 1,809 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total transaction of $288,463.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,215 shares in the company, valued at $4,818,083.90. This trade represents a 5.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 15,169 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.28, for a total transaction of $2,461,625.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 44,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,259,595.80. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 348,618 shares of company stock worth $55,462,643. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,664,783,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,104.8% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 9,521,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,364,518,000 after purchasing an additional 8,731,126 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14,231.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,549,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $508,700,000 after purchasing an additional 3,524,876 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 237,459,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,030,358,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 100.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,460,939 shares of the company's stock worth $782,607,000 after acquiring an additional 2,741,924 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $333.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $153.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.21.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 62.52%.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble NYSE: PG is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world's largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G's product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.

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