New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 403,934 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,460,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 403,934 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 0.7% of New York State Common Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.15% of Procter & Gamble worth $507,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PDS Planning Inc grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 32,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,492,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,390,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,539 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 85,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,474,000 after purchasing an additional 17,618 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 3,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the period. Finally, Scott & Selber Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 16,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG traded up $2.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $160.56. 8,925,924 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,958,951. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $163.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $159.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.02. The company has a market cap of $377.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.77%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.76.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.