The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Premier Fund Managers Ltd lessened its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PG. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 155,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,051,000 after acquiring an additional 6,934 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,741,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,916,000 after purchasing an additional 307,800 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,115,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,063,000 after purchasing an additional 53,768 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 25,155.8% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 45,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,664,000 after purchasing an additional 45,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AKO Capital LLP lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. AKO Capital LLP now owns 1,172,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,557,000 after buying an additional 114,397 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PG. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.82.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.5 %

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $167.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.01%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

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

About Procter & Gamble

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.