Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Trims Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. cut its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,008 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 1.9% of Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PG. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC increased 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 valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of PG stock opened at $170.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $399.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. On average, 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 was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.