The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Avity Investment Management Inc.

Avity Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,249 shares of the company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth $33,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Barclays downgraded Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, September 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.75.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $159.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $146.28 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $376.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.54, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $169.40 and a 200-day moving average of $169.52.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.31%.

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.