Verity & Verity LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Verity & Verity LLC cut its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 17.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 70,763 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,466 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $12,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $29,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $170.80 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.45. The stock has a market cap of $402.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.42. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $142.50 and a 1-year high of $177.94.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 69.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PG. Dbs Bank cut Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.00.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $16,320,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,721 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,570. This represents a 87.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. This trade represents a 3.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 270,727 shares of company stock worth $46,014,037. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.