L & S Advisors Inc Has $3.84 Million Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

L & S Advisors Inc lowered its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,929 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $3,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,524,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,061 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd 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. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $5,244,463,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 312,203 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PG shares. Erste Group Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday. Seven investment 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.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.82.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG opened at $167.94 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.60 and a 200 day moving average of $169.35. 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 has a market cap of $393.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

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.