Hartford Financial Management Inc. Sells 151 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Hartford Financial Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,415 shares of the company’s stock after selling 151 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 1.1% of Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $5,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 138.7% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $70,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.9 %

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $165.98 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 52-week low of $153.52 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $168.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.38. The firm has a market cap of $389.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PG shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.