Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $21.24 Million Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,800 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $21,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. now owns 22,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,756,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Ridgeline Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $581,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 54,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,090,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 41,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,021,000 after purchasing an additional 11,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $169.53 on Wednesday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $167.06 and its 200-day moving average is $169.44. The company has a market cap of $397.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

About Procter & Gamble

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.