L & S Advisors Inc Lowers Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

L & S Advisors Inc reduced its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,929 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $3,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased 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 worth $1,442,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 14.7% in the third 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 raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $824,000. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth about $328,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $167.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $393.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.35. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective 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 issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.82.

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.