West Oak Capital LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

West Oak Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 88.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,950 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,014 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third 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 during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after buying an additional 689,282 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,567,556,000 after buying an additional 122,190 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,183,522,000 after acquiring an additional 830,476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE PG traded down $3.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $158.73. The company had a trading volume of 8,500,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,840,373. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.64. The stock has a market cap of $373.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 3.70 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.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total value of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This trade represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.75.

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.