Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG Shares Sold by Fundsmith Investment Services LTD.

Key Points

• Fundsmith trimmed its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.0% in Q3, selling 58,252 shares and leaving it with 1,888,975 shares (about 4.5% of Fundsmith's portfolio), valued at roughly $290.24 million.
• Quarterly results: P&G reported EPS of $1.88 (beating estimates by $0.02) while revenue was $22.21 billion, slightly below expectations; the stock trades at a trailing P/E of 22.31 with a market cap near $349.9 billion.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently—insiders sold 348,618 shares (about $55.46 million) over the last three months, including notable sales by the CEO and the Chairman.

Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. trimmed its position in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,888,975 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,252 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 4.5% of Fundsmith Investment Services LTD.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. owned 0.08% of Procter & Gamble worth $290,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 594,914 shares of the company's stock worth $91,409,000 after acquiring an additional 21,825 shares in the last quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,796,000. Vega Investment Solutions raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vega Investment Solutions now owns 638,400 shares of the company's stock worth $101,710,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Triodos Investment Management BV raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 255,095 shares of the company's stock worth $39,195,000 after purchasing an additional 17,400 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth approximately $7,891,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG opened at $150.57 on Friday. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $153.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.03. The company has a market cap of $349.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.37. Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $137.62 and a 1-year high of $174.80.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PG. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen lowered Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the company from $150.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Dbs Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $168.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 5,549 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total transaction of $917,194.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $170,083.41. This represents a 84.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jon R. Moeller sold 162,232 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.45, for a total transaction of $26,354,588.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 319,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,884,093.25. The trade was a 33.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 348,618 shares of company stock valued at $55,462,643. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

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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