Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Trims Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 82.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 410,485 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $14,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 237,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,879,000 after purchasing an additional 18,772 shares in the last quarter. Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,873,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 497.2% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 146,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,489,000 after buying an additional 121,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $168.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $167.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $153.52 and a 12-month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid 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 was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of 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 lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.