The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Atwood & Palmer Inc.

Atwood & Palmer Inc. cut its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 980 shares during the quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $3,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PG. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Argus upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $168.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $164.59 and its 200-day moving average is $158.09. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $168.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total value of $135,517.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

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.