Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Reduces Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P decreased its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,182 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,482 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $9,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 6,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,615,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 129,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,714,000 after acquiring an additional 31,112 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 716,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,199,000 after acquiring an additional 17,573 shares during the period. Finally, Moment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $558,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $167.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $393.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $168.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.35.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced 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 net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.82.

About Procter & Gamble

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.