MCF Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

MCF Advisors LLC decreased its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 41,423 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 0.5% of MCF Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $6,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after purchasing an additional 689,282 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,567,556,000 after purchasing an additional 122,190 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,522,000 after purchasing an additional 830,476 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $163.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock opened at $164.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $152.06 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $387.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $169.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

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.