The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Holdings Lowered by LS Investment Advisors LLC

LS Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,286 shares of the company’s stock after selling 920 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,386,111.70. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on Procter & Gamble and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.86.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.5%

PG stock opened at $166.03 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.37. The company has a market cap of $389.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.44, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $156.58 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 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.