Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 19,273,069 shares of the company’s stock after selling 706,135 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for 0.6% of Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $3,231,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on 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 reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eight investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.42.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $170.41 on Tuesday. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $399.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s fifty day moving average is $166.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm 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 firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

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

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.