Palisade Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Palisade Asset Management LLC cut its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,357 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,387 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 2.0% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $20,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 87,979 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.40, for a total transaction of $14,991,621.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 300,777 shares in the company, valued at $51,252,400.80. This represents a 22.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. The trade was a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,693 shares of company stock worth $27,311,345. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays downgraded Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, September 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.00.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $176.26 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $142.50 and a fifty-two week high of $177.94. The company has a market capitalization of $415.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.39, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $170.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 69.48%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.