Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG Position Reduced by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its stake in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 24.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,255 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PG. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 594,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,409,000 after acquiring an additional 21,825 shares in the last quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $4,796,000. Vega Investment Solutions increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vega Investment Solutions now owns 638,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,710,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.3% during the third quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 255,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,195,000 after purchasing an additional 17,400 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $7,891,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $165.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.4%

PG stock opened at $143.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $334.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.36. Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $137.62 and a fifty-two week high of $174.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 32.21%. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 62.52%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 5,549 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total transaction of $917,194.21. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,083.41. The trade was a 84.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 36,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.33, for a total value of $5,858,976.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 34,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,680,576.02. This trade represents a 50.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 348,618 shares of company stock worth $55,462,643 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.