The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lessened its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 437,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,499 shares during the quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $68,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company's stock worth $5,193,916,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047,557 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,313,150 shares of the company's stock worth $4,275,616,000 after acquiring an additional 670,862 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,003,260 shares of the company's stock worth $2,298,184,000 after buying an additional 131,339 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,170,305 shares of the company's stock worth $1,629,299,000 after buying an additional 346,925 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,492,039 shares of the company's stock worth $1,390,963,000 after buying an additional 1,387,539 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on PG. Raymond James raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG stock traded up $2.42 during trading on Monday, hitting $160.56. The company had a trading volume of 8,925,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,958,951. The firm has a market cap of $377.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $163.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.77% and a net margin of 18.00%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.

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