Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Lowers Stake in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Procter & Gamble by 45.3% during Q1, selling 907,432 shares, and now holds 1,094,434 shares valued at approximately $186.5 million.
• Various hedge funds have significantly increased their holdings in Procter & Gamble, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by 20,758.5% to nearly 8 million shares worth over $1.35 billion.
• Procter & Gamble recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.0568 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.69% with a payout ratio of 67.14%.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 45.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,094,434 shares of the company's stock after selling 907,432 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $186,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 566.7% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE PG traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $150.75. The stock had a trading volume of 5,626,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,246,239. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $353.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.40. The business's fifty day moving average price is $160.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.05. Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $149.91 and a 52-week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $20.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.79 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.56% and a net margin of 18.95%. Procter & Gamble's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PG. Redburn Atlantic cut Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and issued a $170.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $170.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Erste Group Bank cut Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.