Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,768 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 1.2% of Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,313,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,616,000 after purchasing an additional 670,862 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,003,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,298,184,000 after purchasing an additional 131,339 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,629,299,000 after purchasing an additional 346,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted 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. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PG shares. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.88.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.7 %

PG stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $161.73. The company had a trading volume of 4,040,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,917,184. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $380.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.13. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $163.14.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.77% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,634. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 279,918 shares of company stock worth $43,323,263. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.