The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,573 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,625 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 0.6% of Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $21,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB lifted 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 worth $260,432,000 after purchasing an additional 56,583 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,031,000 after buying an additional 608,168 shares in the last quarter. United Bank grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on PG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG opened at $173.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $405.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $153.52 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $167.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.84.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 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.