Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank trimmed its PG stake by 4.1% in Q3, selling 32,622 shares and leaving it with 754,385 shares valued at about $115.9 million.
• Insider selling has been notable recently—insiders disposed of 348,618 shares worth roughly $55.46 million over the past three months, with insiders now owning just 0.20% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 14 Buy vs. 7 Hold ratings, a "Moderate Buy" consensus, and an average price target of $168.33.

Comerica Bank lowered its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 754,385 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,622 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $115,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $157.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $156.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Erste Group Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. TD Cowen cut Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $171.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG opened at $150.57 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.03. The firm has a market cap of $349.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.37. Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $137.62 and a twelve month high of $174.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 32.21%. The firm's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.52%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,827 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $2,056,296.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,639 shares in the company, valued at $2,026,158.09. This trade represents a 50.37% decrease in their position. The sale 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 15,169 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,259,595.80. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 348,618 shares of company stock valued at $55,462,643 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.