Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Trims Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC reduced its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 20.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,249 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,118 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,031,000 after buying an additional 608,168 shares during the period. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth about $824,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 15,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG stock opened at $165.73 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $388.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $168.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.58.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PG shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Profile

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.