Fluent Financial LLC Decreases Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Fluent Financial LLC decreased its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 29,392 shares of the company’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 2.6% of Fluent Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PG shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $163.83 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.15. The company has a market cap of $386.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $169.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It 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, and SK-II brands.