LifeSteps Financial Inc. Sells 232 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

LifeSteps Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,284 shares of the company’s stock after selling 232 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,552,000 after purchasing an additional 206,165 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,556,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,547,021,000 after purchasing an additional 559,358 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,571,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,402,636,000 after purchasing an additional 246,323 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,492,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,390,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,539 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG stock traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $167.92. The company had a trading volume of 9,491,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,681,171. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $141.45 and a 12 month high of $171.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $166.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.10. The firm has a market cap of $396.31 billion, a PE ratio of 27.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.95.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total value of $12,342,475.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 263,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,002,649.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 3,373 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $573,410.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 21,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,657,210. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares in the company, valued at $45,002,649.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,313 shares of company stock valued at $19,703,643 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble 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.