J. Goldman & Co LP Sells 13,342 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

J. Goldman & Co LP cut its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 46.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,380 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,342 shares during the quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $5,244,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $1,010,685,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,757 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,240,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,846,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,928,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703,757 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.52.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 64,520 shares of company stock valued at $10,999,268 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $157.73 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. 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 $165.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.54. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $156.30 and a 52 week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $1.0568 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

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.