The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Stake Trimmed by MRA Advisory Group

MRA Advisory Group cut its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 416 shares during the quarter. MRA Advisory Group’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after purchasing an additional 689,282 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,567,556,000 after purchasing an additional 122,190 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,522,000 after buying an additional 830,476 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.6 %

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $159.82 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.52. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $146.28 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $376.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $338,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,110. This represents a 12.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

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.