Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 893,688 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,624 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for 0.6% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $152,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price target on Procter & Gamble and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $161.00 target price on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned 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 an average target price of $178.86.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $162.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $381.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $163.86 and a 200 day moving average of $167.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $156.58 and a 12 month high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were given a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 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.