AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 346,435 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lowered its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,480,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 346,435 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 1.2% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.06% of Procter & Gamble worth $248,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:PG opened at $171.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is 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.