Covenant Partners LLC Trims Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Covenant Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 593 shares during the period. Covenant Partners LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $5,244,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,010,685,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,757 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,846,560 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,928,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on PG. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.40.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $158.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $372.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.85. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $156.58 and a one year high of $180.43. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,330,060. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.