Nicholas Company Inc. Sells 2,817 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Nicholas Company Inc. decreased its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,683 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,817 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,432,000 after buying an additional 56,583 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,031,000 after buying an additional 608,168 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 5,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $168.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $394.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $167.27 and a 200-day moving average of $169.81.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.