Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 119 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. cut its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 109,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $18,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after buying an additional 689,282 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,567,556,000 after acquiring an additional 122,190 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position 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 worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $3,183,522,000 after purchasing an additional 830,476 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PG. Barclays downgraded Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, September 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total value of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $159.34. 3,292,309 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,346,956. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $146.28 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $169.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.61.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.