Morningstar Investment Management LLC Sells 222 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,962 shares of the company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.6 %

PG opened at $166.46 on Thursday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.44. 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 company has a market capitalization of $390.33 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.17%.

Procter & Gamble 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.