Erste Asset Management GmbH Reduces Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Erste Asset Management GmbH lessened its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 290,928 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,454 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $48,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PG. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,432,000 after acquiring an additional 56,583 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,031,000 after acquiring an additional 608,168 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 5,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $168.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $167.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $394.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.47.

Procter & Gamble 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.