Saratoga Research & Investment Management Has $29.54 Million Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management trimmed its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,571 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,036 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 1.3% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Saratoga Research & Investment Management's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $29,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company's stock worth $16,300,000 after acquiring an additional 4,035 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,705,000. Welch Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 323,870 shares of the company's stock worth $56,094,000 after acquiring an additional 2,990 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,005,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,213,403,000 after purchasing an additional 39,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 20.3% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 21,655 shares of the company's stock worth $3,751,000 after purchasing an additional 3,652 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PG. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays cut shares of Procter & Gamble from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $163.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $180.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total transaction of $108,826.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,319,882.65. This represents a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,080 shares of company stock valued at $14,629,038 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $170.85. The company had a trading volume of 3,991,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,698,313. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.50. The company has a market cap of $402.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $142.50 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.31%.

Procter & Gamble 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.