CWS Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

CWS Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 772 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises about 0.7% of CWS Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. CWS Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after acquiring an additional 689,282 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,183,522,000 after acquiring an additional 830,476 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,422,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,844,442,000 after acquiring an additional 105,734 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PG. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight 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 MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.42.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $170.41 on Tuesday. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $166.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.44. The stock has a market cap of $399.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, 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. 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.