The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Position Reduced by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 12.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,361 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,046 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises 0.5% of Essex Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $11,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,567,556,000 after purchasing an additional 122,190 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,691,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,598,510,000 after acquiring an additional 733,440 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,161,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $999,705,000 after acquiring an additional 545,601 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,008,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $974,914,000 after acquiring an additional 79,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,706,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $941,066,000 after purchasing an additional 216,300 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.00.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG opened at $168.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $396.16 billion, a PE ratio of 29.00, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $171.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.62. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $142.50 and a twelve month high of $177.94.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The business 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 69.48%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 3,373 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $573,410.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 21,513 shares in the company, valued at $3,657,210. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,570. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 3,373 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $573,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 21,513 shares in the company, valued at $3,657,210. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 397,986 shares of company stock valued at $67,642,430. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.