We're selling shares of a consumer staples giant following its recent rally

Published Wed, Jul 5 20239:03 AM EDT

Shortly after the opening bell Wednesday, we'll be selling 100 shares of Procter & Gamble (PG), at roughly $152.50 apiece. Following the trade, Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust will own 515 shares of PG, decreasing its weighting in the portfolio to 2.78%, from 3.3%. Consumer staples giant Procter & Gamble — maker of household brand names like Gillette and Crest — has rallied roughly 6% since early June, to around $152 a share. But the stock is now back at a level from which it has previously struggled to break above, so it seems prudent to take some shares off the table. We'll realize a small loss of about 6% on stock first purchased in April 2022. The move comes with the S & P 500 having gained about 2% since the start of last week. The market is now moving close to overbought territory, with the S & P 500 Short Range Oscillator at 3.11%. Historically, July is one of the best months of the year for stocks. The last time the S & P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite declined in the month of July was back in 2014. Still, given the market's significant run in the first half 2023, equities could potentially pause this month. Our sale of P & G Wednesday also comes at the start of second-quarter earnings season, which has so far seen lackluster market reactions to reports from consumer staples. Last week, both General Mills (GIS) and McCormick (MKC) fell 5% after reporting quarterly earnings. Even Club name Constellation Brands (STZ), which was an outlier with a strong quarterly beat, failed to rally last Friday. P & G is set to report fiscal 2023 fourth-quarter results on July 28. Moreover, with the Federal Reserve's key interest rate above 5% for the foreseeable future, a defensive group like staples may have a more difficult time outperforming the broader market. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long PG, STZ. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

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