Stack Financial Management Inc Sells 2,481 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Stack Financial Management Inc lessened its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 96,208 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,481 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises 1.6% of Stack Financial Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $14,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 636.6% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 206.6% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PG. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:PG traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $161.30. 1,840,374 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,908,281. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $164.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $159.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.39. The company has a market cap of $380.69 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.