Amalgamated Bank Cuts Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Amalgamated Bank cut its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 572,922 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,140 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 0.7% of Amalgamated Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $83,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,943,000 after acquiring an additional 3,159,796 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13,850.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,747,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,601,000 after buying an additional 2,727,685 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 235.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,231,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,475,000 after buying an additional 2,268,805 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth $246,412,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on PG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $163.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,569,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,907,679. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $164.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $159.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $387.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.