The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Stock Position Cut by Wulff Hansen & CO.

Wulff Hansen & CO. lowered its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,919 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises 3.3% of Wulff Hansen & CO.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Wulff Hansen & CO.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $3,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973,757 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth approximately $301,950,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. 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 research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $167.66 on Wednesday. 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 $393.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 declared 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 was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

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.