Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Sells 609 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,830 shares of the company’s stock after selling 609 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $168.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $396.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $167.74 and a 200-day moving average of $169.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.