Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 12.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 515,896 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70,413 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $85,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,956,117,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,552,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,546,302,000 after buying an additional 554,451 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,571,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,402,636,000 after acquiring an additional 246,323 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 6,987,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,023,949,000 after acquiring an additional 223,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,161,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $999,705,000 after purchasing an additional 545,601 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PG. Wolfe Research raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.79.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $175.59. The company had a trading volume of 5,785,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,591,211. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $177.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.65. The company has a market capitalization of $414.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.85%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,451.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andre Schulten sold 13,041 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $2,216,970.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,325,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 375,553 shares of company stock worth $63,829,141. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.