Blue Square Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)

Blue Square Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 87.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,447 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,964 shares during the quarter. Blue Square Asset Management LLC's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,807 shares of the company's stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 27,690 shares of the company's stock worth $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13.8% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 37,709 shares of the company's stock worth $6,426,000 after acquiring an additional 4,562 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.0% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 50,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,677,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $1,874,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.0%

PG traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $156.95. 8,051,886 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,596,124. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $161.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.94. Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $155.95 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $367.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.40.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 18.46%. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Atlantic cut Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $161.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,965 shares in the company, valued at $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.