Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Trims Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lessened its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 561,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,117 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises 1.0% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $94,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,300,000 after buying an additional 4,035 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $569,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 185,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,065,000 after purchasing an additional 6,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,898,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,583,000 after purchasing an additional 201,695 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $161.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.39. The stock has a market cap of $379.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $146.28 and a twelve month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.48%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,954,538.34. This trade represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % 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 valued at $13,317,460. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $163.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.