Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Trims Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC trimmed its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 372 shares during the period. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $13,321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 138.7% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth $70,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PG shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $165.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $168.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.38. The company has a market cap of $389.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

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.