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

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 8.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,881 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,720 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $6,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.7%

PG stock opened at $164.01 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $156.58 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The firm has a market cap of $384.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.86.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.