Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 8,448 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,447 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,448 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $21,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:PG opened at $167.66 on Wednesday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $153.52 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.78.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PG. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.47.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

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

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.