Empower Advisory Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Empower Advisory Group LLC cut its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 851,765 shares of the company’s stock after selling 274,478 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $142,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,467,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 455,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,423,000 after acquiring an additional 9,754 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Mathes Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 595.0% in the 4th quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 24,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,155,000 after purchasing an additional 21,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 21,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,665 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on PG. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 4.8 %

NYSE PG opened at $162.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $381.84 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $166.51 and its 200 day moving average is $169.52. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve 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.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.17%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.