The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 89.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 185 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,508 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $31,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PG. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the third 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 during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after buying an additional 689,282 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,522,000 after acquiring an additional 830,476 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,422,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,844,442,000 after acquiring an additional 105,734 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.0 %

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $164.41 on Monday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $152.06 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $168.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.37. The firm has a market cap of $387.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. 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. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

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.