The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 956,336 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,574 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $140,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ballast Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 14,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. now owns 62,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,100,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 90,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,941 shares during the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth about $10,341,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE PG traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $161.29. 5,659,784 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,820,118. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $164.32. The company has a market cap of $380.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.57.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Raymond James raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble 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.