Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Cuts Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 8.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,697 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,427 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 0.8% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $12,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $76,149.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,212,043.84. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 31,797 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total value of $5,380,688.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 300,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,897,483.94. This represents a 9.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,597 shares of company stock worth $53,268,499 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.00.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG opened at $169.57 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.33. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $142.50 and a fifty-two week high of $177.94. The stock has a market cap of $399.34 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 69.48%.

Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.