Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Reduces Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,243,445 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,961 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises about 3.7% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.18% of Procter & Gamble worth $621,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PG. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 274,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,032,000 after acquiring an additional 3,463 shares during the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the third quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 13,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,015,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.5% in the third quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the third quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 11,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the third quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,781,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,788. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,865 shares of company stock worth $16,029,280 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $161.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $159.64 and its 200-day moving average is $153.51. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $164.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 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 business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. 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 is presently 65.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

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.