The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,880,000 shares, a drop of 17.3% from the September 30th total of 20,420,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded up $1.11 on Monday, reaching $169.33. The stock had a trading volume of 3,481,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,652,583. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $171.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Procter & Gamble has a 1 year low of $142.50 and a 1 year high of $177.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $398.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at $1,954,538.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total transaction of $12,342,475.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,002,649.58. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,954,538.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 397,986 shares of company stock worth $67,642,430. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc now owns 5,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the third quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 18,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,187,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Whelan Financial grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.0% in the third quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 2,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.