Korea Investment CORP Sells 143,983 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,773,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 143,983 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 0.7% of Korea Investment CORP’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.08% of Procter & Gamble worth $297,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cottage Street Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC now owns 5,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 4,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $503,000. Aviso Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 189.1% during the 4th quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 5,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $909,000 after acquiring an additional 3,547 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $322,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on PG. Barclays upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.47.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of PG opened at $166.48 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $390.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $168.31 and its 200 day moving average is $169.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

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.