The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Profit Investment Management LLC

Profit Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 236 shares during the quarter. Profit Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 58,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,879,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC now owns 10,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,074,000 after purchasing an additional 3,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This trade represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PG opened at $161.35 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $146.28 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.39.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 69.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PG. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $163.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, December 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.65.

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.