The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Formidable Asset Management LLC

Formidable Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 292,405 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,222 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises about 8.1% of Formidable Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Formidable Asset Management LLC's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $49,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company's stock worth $38,524,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,472,195 shares of the company's stock worth $9,457,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,419 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,244,463,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,395,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,928,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703,757 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,197,996 shares of the company's stock worth $3,386,194,000 after buying an additional 1,209,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,520 shares of company stock valued at $7,909,388 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of PG stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $167.33. 5,367,442 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,284,178. The stock has a market cap of $392.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.35. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.58 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.52.

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.