Diligent Investors LLC Trims Holdings in Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

Diligent Investors LLC reduced its stake in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,004 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,883 shares during the quarter. Diligent Investors LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 40,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,717,000 after purchasing an additional 13,617 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Taylor Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $979,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Auxano Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 7,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 30,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,809,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 36,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.33, for a total value of $5,858,976.69. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,680,576.02. This trade represents a 50.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 5,549 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total transaction of $917,194.21. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $170,083.41. This trade represents a 84.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 348,618 shares of company stock worth $55,462,643. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PG shares. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $177.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, January 16th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock opened at $150.57 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $153.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $349.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.37. Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $137.62 and a 1 year high of $174.80.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 62.52%.

Procter & Gamble Profile

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.