The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 7.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 163,996 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,855 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 0.8% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $28,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 25,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% during the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 27,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,727,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 82,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 48,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,388,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connable Office Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 25,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,331,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $16,320,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,570. This trade represents a 87.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andre Schulten sold 13,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $2,216,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,325,360. This trade represents a 25.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 313,597 shares of company stock valued at $53,268,499. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $169.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $399.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $142.50 and a 52 week high of $177.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 69.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.00.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.