The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,065 shares of the company’s stock after selling 282 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 19,030.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,693,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,730,000 after purchasing an additional 3,674,286 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after buying an additional 1,760,214 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth approximately $301,950,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 416.1% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466,115 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG stock opened at $164.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $387.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $152.06 and a 12-month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21,657,595.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

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.