Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC cut its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 34.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,562 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,907 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises 0.9% of Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PG. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after buying an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after acquiring an additional 689,282 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,522,000 after purchasing an additional 830,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,422,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,844,442,000 after acquiring an additional 105,734 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PG stock opened at $167.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $153.52 and a 52-week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

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.