Viawealth LLC Lowers Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Viawealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,481 shares of the company’s stock after selling 537 shares during the quarter. Viawealth LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,812,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Tevis Investment Management raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $970,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % 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, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.6 %

PG stock opened at $168.66 on Thursday. 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $167.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.77. The firm has a market cap of $395.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.86, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its 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. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.