The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Fred Alger Management LLC

Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,078 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,667 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $8,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 27,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,374,000 after buying an additional 1,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,764,000 after buying an additional 2,568 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $158.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $371.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $156.58 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.65.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.0568 dividend. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price target on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Erste Group Bank cut Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 64,520 shares of company stock worth $10,999,268 in the last 90 days. Company 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.