The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. cut its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,184 shares of the company’s stock after selling 411 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 1.1% of W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PG. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 11.2% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Tevis Investment Management grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $171.15 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 company has a market capitalization of $401.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $166.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.44.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PG. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.