The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,591 shares of the company’s stock after selling 770 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 0.8% of Essex Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $10,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,016,000 after buying an additional 1,466,115 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 17.6% during the third quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 4,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $804,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Orca Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13.7% during the third quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 3,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 17,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,983,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $167.45 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $392.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on PG. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

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.