The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Bank

Washington Trust Bank reduced its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 249,731 shares of the company’s stock after selling 456 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 4.0% of Washington Trust Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $41,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after acquiring an additional 689,282 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the 3rd 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,133,850,000 after acquiring an additional 312,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,881,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,830,252,000 after acquiring an additional 459,437 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on PG. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of PG stock opened at $166.60 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.72. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. 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 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

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

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.