The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,247,054 shares of the company’s stock after selling 550,619 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.14% of Procter & Gamble worth $544,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PG. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 95.3% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 64,520 shares of company stock worth $10,999,268. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PG. Bank of America cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.52.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock opened at $157.73 on Monday. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.30 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $369.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $165.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.54.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

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.