Mechanics Bank Trust Department Has $9.25 Million Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department cut its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,199 shares of the company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up 1.2% of Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $9,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 19,030.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,693,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,730,000 after buying an additional 3,674,286 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth $301,950,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466,115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PG. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, December 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $161.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $379.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $146.28 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.46.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,447 shares of company stock worth $12,978,820 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.