Scott & Selber Inc. Sells 456 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Scott & Selber Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 456 shares during the period. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,881,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,830,252,000 after purchasing an additional 459,437 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 661,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,940,000 after buying an additional 20,600 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 291,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,820,000 after buying an additional 9,429 shares during the period. Wernau Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,475,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,857,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $175.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $411.52 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.61. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble’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 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.11.

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.