The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,591 shares of the company’s stock after selling 770 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 0.8% of Essex Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $10,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PG. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, 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 is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of PG stock opened at $167.45 on Tuesday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $167.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 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 paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.17%.

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.