Bailard Inc. Decreases Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Bailard Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 152,297 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,216 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $25,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 64.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE PG traded up $1.18 during trading on Monday, hitting $170.35. The company had a trading volume of 5,424,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,597,088. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $171.89. The company has a market cap of $402.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $167.35 and its 200-day moving average is $163.77.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PG. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $179.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total transaction of $12,342,475.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares in the company, valued at $45,002,649.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 237,293 shares of company stock worth $40,331,085 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.