Sowell Financial Services LLC Lowers Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Sowell Financial Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,842 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,010 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after acquiring an additional 689,282 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,133,850,000 after acquiring an additional 312,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 459,437 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:PG opened at $176.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $412.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.04, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.77.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 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 reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.11.

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.