Stratos Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Stratos Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 983 shares during the quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $5,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466,115 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 6.6% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 479,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,057,000 after acquiring an additional 29,799 shares during the last quarter. Country Trust Bank increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% during the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 293,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,908,000 after acquiring an additional 5,258 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.5% in the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 58,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,095,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reliant Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.7% in the third quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 7,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on PG. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $169.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $396.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $167.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

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.