Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 48,961 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,243,445 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,961 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 3.7% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $621,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the third quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Chemistry Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on PG. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

PG stock opened at $161.24 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $164.32. The stock has a market cap of $380.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. Analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,865 shares of company stock worth $16,029,280 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.