Country Trust Bank Has $43.05 Million Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Country Trust Bank reduced its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 256,779 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,145 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 1.1% of Country Trust Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Country Trust Bank's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $43,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PG. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 19,030.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,693,593 shares of the company's stock worth $639,730,000 after acquiring an additional 3,674,286 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company's stock worth $3,290,573,000 after buying an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at $301,950,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 416.1% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company's stock worth $315,016,000 after buying an additional 1,466,115 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, 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 value 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 $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE PG traded up $2.91 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $168.90. 8,668,582 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,440,821. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The business's 50-day moving average is $168.34 and its 200-day moving average is $169.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $396.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. 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 2.38%. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is presently 64.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.