Wellington Shields & Co. LLC Sells 549 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC cut its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,168 shares of the company’s stock after selling 549 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the first quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $854,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 9,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.72, for a total value of $1,534,470.28. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,451.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 9,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.72, for a total transaction of $1,534,470.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,929 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,451.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of PG stock traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $166.54. 1,540,617 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,501,485. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $165.97 and its 200-day moving average is $159.85. The company has a market cap of $393.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.41. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $169.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PG. StockNews.com raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Argus boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.