SMART Wealth LLC Lowers Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

SMART Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,141 shares of the company’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. SMART Wealth LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 972.0% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $167.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $393.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $167.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.