Freedom Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,024 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,606 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PG shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.45.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. This trade represents a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total value of $2,163,072.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. The trade was a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,233 shares of company stock valued at $6,024,234. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $179.34 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $422.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.42. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $142.50 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $170.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

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.