Waverton Investment Management Ltd Sells 686 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,887 shares of the company’s stock after selling 686 shares during the period. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $5,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $3,956,117,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,552,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,546,302,000 after purchasing an additional 554,451 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,571,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,402,636,000 after purchasing an additional 246,323 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 6,987,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,023,949,000 after purchasing an additional 223,798 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,161,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $999,705,000 after purchasing an additional 545,601 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $175.47 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $176.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $414.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $168.05 and its 200 day moving average is $164.52.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BNP Paribas started coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.79.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total value of $12,342,475.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 263,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,002,649.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,553 shares of company stock worth $63,829,141. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

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.