Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Cuts Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 58.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acorn Creek Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the third quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Traveka Wealth LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 11.2% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PG shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $164.57 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $169.01 and a 200 day moving average of $169.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $152.06 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $387.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

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.