GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC cut its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,208 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,215 shares during the quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PG. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $162.19 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $163.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.05. The company has a market cap of $380.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.58 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PG. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.86.

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.