The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is Lakeside Advisors INC.’s 5th Largest Position

Lakeside Advisors INC. lowered its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,641 shares of the company’s stock after selling 396 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 4.1% of Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $5,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 636.6% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 206.6% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded up $0.50 on Wednesday, hitting $155.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,103,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,114,070. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $163.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $159.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $152.77. The company has a market capitalization of $366.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.98%.

Procter & Gamble 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.