Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Decreases Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS decreased its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 374,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,884 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises about 1.2% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $64,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 5.5% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 32,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,192,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,733,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.5% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 12.7% during the first quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 21,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays cut shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Nine 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.00.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $16,320,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,570. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Andre Schulten sold 13,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $2,216,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,325,360. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $16,320,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,721 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,570. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 385,771 shares of company stock valued at $65,610,975. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:PG traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $162.55. The company had a trading volume of 531,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,622,975. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $142.50 and a 12-month high of $177.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $382.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.13.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 69.48%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, SK-II, and Native brands.