The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Baxter Bros Inc.

Baxter Bros Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 104,789 shares of the company’s stock after selling 184 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 2.2% of Baxter Bros Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $15,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,313,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,275,616,000 after acquiring an additional 670,862 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,003,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,298,184,000 after buying an additional 131,339 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,629,299,000 after purchasing an additional 346,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,556,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,547,021,000 after acquiring an additional 559,358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $164.46. 5,581,692 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,941,715. The company has a market capitalization of $388.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $164.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $160.01 and its 200-day moving average is $154.17.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,483.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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, 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 note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

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.