First National Trust Co Cuts Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

First National Trust Co lessened its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,600 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for 0.9% of First National Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $20,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.4 %

Procter & Gamble stock traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $164.46. The company had a trading volume of 5,581,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,941,715. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.17. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $164.71. The stock has a market cap of $388.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It 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, and SK-II brands.