Verity Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Verity Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,838 shares of the company’s stock after selling 272 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,567,556,000 after purchasing an additional 122,190 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 8.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,691,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,598,510,000 after purchasing an additional 733,440 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,008,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,914,000 after purchasing an additional 79,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,706,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $941,066,000 after buying an additional 216,300 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $163.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $384.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $142.50 and a one year high of $177.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $171.29 and its 200 day moving average is $168.13.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,954,538.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $76,149.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,212,043.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,597 shares of company stock valued at $53,268,499 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on PG shares. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. DZ Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.00.

Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.