The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Stake Decreased by Parthenon LLC

Parthenon LLC lessened its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,591 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 3.0% of Parthenon LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $24,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 19,030.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,693,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,730,000 after purchasing an additional 3,674,286 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after buying an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $301,950,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466,115 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PG stock opened at $166.46 on Thursday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.33 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 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 analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 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.