The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Blue Fin Capital Inc.

Blue Fin Capital Inc. lowered its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,278 shares of the company’s stock after selling 107 shares during the period. Blue Fin Capital Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 636.6% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,483.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total transaction of $5,049,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,483.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PG traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $164.46. 5,581,692 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,941,715. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $164.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.17. The firm has a market cap of $388.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.