Avalon Capital Management Trims Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Avalon Capital Management cut its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,940 shares of the company’s stock after selling 490 shares during the quarter. Avalon Capital Management’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PG. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466,115 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,432,000 after acquiring an additional 56,583 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 5,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.42.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $170.41 on Tuesday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $166.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.44. The firm has a market cap of $399.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.