Bard Financial Services Inc. Sells 4,625 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Bard Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,486 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,625 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises about 1.4% of Bard Financial Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Bard Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $12,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 544 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Phoenix Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.9% in the second quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors now owns 6,954 shares of the company's stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 76.6% during the second quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC now owns 5,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.6% in the second quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,559 shares of the company's stock worth $1,576,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,502 shares of the company's stock worth $907,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG traded down $1.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $170.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,236,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,709,633. The firm has a market cap of $401.98 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $142.50 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The company's 50-day moving average is $170.70 and its 200-day moving average is $169.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 7,007 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $1,202,751.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 269,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,203,373.80. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,080 shares of company stock worth $14,629,038 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. DZ Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $160.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.45.

About Procter & Gamble

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.