Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 5,030 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,545,519 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,030 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 0.6% of Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $259,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Next Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 2,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. L.K. Benson & Company P.C. acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $295,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $3,508,000. GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 114,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,142,000 after purchasing an additional 4,858 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.6 %

PG stock opened at $168.66 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $167.71 and its 200 day moving average is $169.77. The firm has a market cap of $395.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble 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.