Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,771 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,143 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $3,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 636.6% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 206.6% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PG traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $156.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,998,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,810,309. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $159.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.70. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $163.14. The firm has a market cap of $368.48 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.14. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $149,160.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.53.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.