Golden State Equity Partners Lowers Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Golden State Equity Partners lessened its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,304 shares of the company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PG. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 636.6% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 206.6% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $161.29 on Friday. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $164.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $159.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.57. The stock has a market cap of $380.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 3.27 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. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value 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 approximately $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,908,891.60. 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. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.