Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Trims Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lowered its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,620 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 0.8% of Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $13,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company's stock worth $38,524,976,000 after buying an additional 1,592,061 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company's stock worth $9,457,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company's stock worth $4,928,107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703,757 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company's stock worth $3,386,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at $8,386,111.70. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. The trade was a 29.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:PG traded down $3.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $160.06. 7,093,816 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,367,457. The stock has a market cap of $375.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $163.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.95. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.58 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.