Country Trust Bank Sells 4,064 Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

Country Trust Bank lessened its holdings in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 332,231 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,064 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 0.9% of Country Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $47,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Emprise Bank grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Emprise Bank now owns 2,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Affiance Financial LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Affiance Financial LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. now owns 14,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,040,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc. now owns 20,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,144,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp now owns 28,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,029,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $142.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $331.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.41. Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $137.62 and a 1-year high of $171.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $153.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.46.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 62.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Jon R. Moeller sold 162,232 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.45, for a total transaction of $26,354,588.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 319,385 shares in the company, valued at $51,884,093.25. This represents a 33.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 1,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total value of $288,463.14. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,818,083.90. This trade represents a 5.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 348,618 shares of company stock worth $55,462,643 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on PG. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, January 16th. Erste Group Bank cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Dbs Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $165.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.06.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.