Phocas Financial Corp. Trims Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Phocas Financial Corp. trimmed its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG – Get Rating) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,083 shares of the company’s stock after selling 279 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ledyard National Bank increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 81,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,233,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the period. Autumn Glory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 10,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,383,000 after purchasing an additional 3,070 shares during the period. Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 28,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,586,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445 shares during the period. Udine Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth $752,000. Finally, Virtus ETF Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth $665,000. 62.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG opened at $142.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $141.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.64. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $122.18 and a one year high of $164.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $337.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.40.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 19th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 17.79%. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 20th were issued a $0.9133 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 19th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 2,151 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.34, for a total value of $295,418.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,141,570.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Andre Schulten sold 1,311 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.34, for a total value of $180,052.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,826,402.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 2,151 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.34, for a total value of $295,418.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,141,570.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,766 shares of company stock valued at $656,511 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, November 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $149.00 to $164.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 22nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, February 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.67.

About Procter & Gamble

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Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & 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.