China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Decreases Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 52.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,516 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,366 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PG. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 42,517 shares of the company's stock worth $7,128,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 56,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,400,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $950,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $4,261,000. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,368 shares of the company's stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG traded down $1.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $167.25. 537,627 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,119,466. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $153.52 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.41. The company has a market cap of $392.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PG. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $180.53.

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.