The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Levin Capital Strategies L.P.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lowered its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,411 shares of the company’s stock after selling 272 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total transaction of $5,049,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,483.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,483.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 86,865 shares of company stock worth $14,059,180. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PG traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $164.16. The stock had a trading volume of 3,257,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,904,771. The firm has a market cap of $387.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $164.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.88 and a 200-day moving average of $153.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

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.