Safeguard Financial LLC Sells 238 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Safeguard Financial LLC cut its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,720 shares of the company’s stock after selling 238 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises about 0.5% of Safeguard Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Safeguard Financial LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 636.6% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $50,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 206.6% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.53.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PG traded up $0.50 on Tuesday, reaching $155.95. 6,102,846 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,848,103. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.70. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $141.45 and a 52 week high of $163.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $366.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.48 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 62.98%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at $25,097,637.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.