The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC

Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC cut its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 50,941 shares of the company’s stock after selling 409 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 2.1% of Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PG. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 96,526.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,535,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,840,449,000 after buying an additional 38,495,676 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,752,321,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,320,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,717,246,000 after purchasing an additional 4,959,527 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 118.1% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,334,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $961,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,429,929 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047,557 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on PG. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.35.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,160.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 approximately $5,943,835.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,160.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.9 %

PG stock opened at $155.82 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.54. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $163.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $366.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. The firm had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors 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 is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 62.98%.

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.