Avity Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Avity Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,949 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,696,000. Steele Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $204,000. United Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,463,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 67.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 26,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,420,000 after purchasing an additional 10,777 shares during the period. Finally, Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PG. Wolfe Research raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,451.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 383,194 shares of company stock worth $65,140,718 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of PG stock traded up $2.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $171.09. The stock had a trading volume of 7,036,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,682,263. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $141.66 and a 12-month high of $177.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $403.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $171.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.69%.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.