Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG Shares Sold by AIA Group Ltd

Key Points

• AIA Group cut its Procter & Gamble stake by 46.6% in the third quarter, selling 99,127 shares and retaining 113,755 shares valued at about $16.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment was broadly positive: 15 analysts rated PG a Buy and 11 a Hold, with a consensus target price of $170.57; Evercore upgraded the stock to Outperform.
• P&G beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.00 in earnings per share and $23.28 billion in revenue. It also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0885 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 2.7%.

AIA Group Ltd cut its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,755 shares of the company's stock after selling 99,127 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $16,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at about $27,862,105,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,216,308 shares of the company's stock worth $14,988,999,000 after acquiring an additional 965,461 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth approximately $3,850,628,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth approximately $2,281,505,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,797,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,704,182,000 after acquiring an additional 300,280 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Evercore upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $166.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $169.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.57.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE PG opened at $161.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $137.62 and a 52 week high of $167.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $150.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.12. The company has a market cap of $375.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.36.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $23.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.80 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.23% and a return on equity of 31.02%. The business's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Friday, October 23rd will be given a $1.0885 dividend. This represents a $4.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 23rd. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.09, for a total value of $5,708,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,033,718.19. This represents a 38.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Paul Gama sold 4,331 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.27, for a total value of $698,460.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 46,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,546,307.11. The trade was a 8.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 128,085 shares of company stock worth $20,696,098. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Procter & Gamble

Here are the key news stories impacting Procter & Gamble this week:

• Positive Sentiment: P&G has raised its dividend for 70 consecutive years, a track record that supports its appeal to income-focused investors. Article: Procter & Gamble dividend history
• Neutral Sentiment: The company closed a €3.25 billion euro-note offering. The financing provides capital but adds debt obligations; the available report does not specify how the proceeds will be used. Article: Euro note offering
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts note that rising costs and shoppers’ focus on value could make it harder for P&G to sustain growth in premium brands, despite strong loyalty and innovation. Article: Premium brands in a value-seeking market
• Negative Sentiment: Several executives and the chief accounting officer reported share sales. Such transactions can add near-term concern, though insider sales alone do not establish a negative outlook. SEC filing: Insider transaction

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble Company NYSE: PG is a global consumer products company that develops, manufactures and markets branded products used in households and personal care. Its portfolio includes personal health and grooming products, beauty and skin care items, baby, feminine and family care products, fabric and home care products, and oral care products.

The company's well-known brands include Pampers, Tide, Gillette, Crest, Oral-B, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Olay, Old Spice, Dawn, Febreze and Mr.

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