Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,488 shares of the company’s stock after selling 264 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.9% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,432,000 after acquiring an additional 56,583 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Trademark Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Trademark Financial Management LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 3,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 4,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $174.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.72. The stock has a market cap of $409.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $153.52 and a 52-week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Procter & Gamble 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.