Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG Shares Sold by Aristotle Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Aristotle Capital Management reduced its Procter & Gamble stake by 5.3%, selling 288,647 shares and ending the quarter with 5,139,349 shares worth about $789.7 million (≈0.22% of the company).
• Company insiders sold a total of 348,618 shares (~$55.46 million) over the last three months, including Chairman Jon R. Moeller's sale of 162,232 shares that cut his holding by 33.68%; insider ownership is now 0.20%.
• Analysts have a consensus of "Moderate Buy" (14 Buys, 7 Holds) with an average target of $168.33; P&G recently beat EPS estimates ($1.88 vs. $1.86) and pays a $4.23 annual dividend (≈2.8% yield).

Aristotle Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,139,349 shares of the company's stock after selling 288,647 shares during the quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Procter & Gamble worth $789,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 234,630,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,050,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,322 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,099,644,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,850,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,510,955,000 after buying an additional 1,752,481 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,385,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,770,035,000 after buying an additional 294,673 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 16,556,061 shares of the company's stock worth $2,543,839,000 after acquiring an additional 189,968 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $177.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 15,169 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.28, for a total value of $2,461,625.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,735 shares in the company, valued at $7,259,595.80. This represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jon R. Moeller sold 162,232 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.45, for a total transaction of $26,354,588.40. Following the sale, the chairman owned 319,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,884,093.25. This represents a 33.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 348,618 shares of company stock valued at $55,462,643 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $150.57 on Friday. Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $137.62 and a 12 month high of $174.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $349.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.37. The business's fifty day moving average price is $153.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.00.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.Procter & Gamble's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is 62.67%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble NYSE: PG is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world's largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G's product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.

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