Sigma Planning Corp Sells 9,848 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Sigma Planning Corp decreased its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,848 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $9,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after purchasing an additional 689,282 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,422,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,844,442,000 after purchasing an additional 105,734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.8 %

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $170.17 on Friday. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $153.52 and a 12-month high of $180.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $166.04 and its 200 day moving average is $169.44. The company has a market capitalization of $399.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.