Covea Finance Lowers Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Covea Finance lessened its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 43.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,970 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,000 shares during the quarter. Covea Finance's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $9,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1,135.1% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 20,688 shares of the company's stock worth $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 19,013 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. WealthPLAN Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 3,688 shares of the company's stock worth $608,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,213,000. Finally, Lumbard & Kellner LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at $413,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $180.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $338,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,110. This represents a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE:PG traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $160.54. The stock had a trading volume of 5,753,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,788,053. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $146.28 and a one year high of $180.43. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $169.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $378.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm's revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.51%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.48%.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.