Picton Mahoney Asset Management Cuts Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management reduced its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 27.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,503 shares during the quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $8,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PG. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,859 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $5,253,549.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,605,961.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,724 shares of company stock worth $19,312,729 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded up $1.32 on Tuesday, hitting $165.76. 6,374,243 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,896,868. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $166.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $160.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.85%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.