The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Searle & CO.

Searle & CO. lowered its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 57.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,788 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,199 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 1.6% of Searle & CO.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $6,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,567,556,000 after purchasing an additional 122,190 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 8.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,691,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,598,510,000 after buying an additional 733,440 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,161,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $999,705,000 after acquiring an additional 545,601 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,008,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,914,000 after acquiring an additional 79,665 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,706,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $941,066,000 after acquiring an additional 216,300 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total value of $76,149.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,212,043.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $76,149.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,043.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,186 shares of company stock worth $65,479,358 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Nine 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.00.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $169.58 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $400.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $171.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $142.50 and a twelve month high of $177.94.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.69%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, SK-II, and Native brands.