Safeguard Financial LLC Decreases Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Safeguard Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,720 shares of the company’s stock after selling 238 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up 0.5% of Safeguard Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Safeguard Financial LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PG. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 636.6% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 206.6% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE PG traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $155.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,102,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,848,103. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $366.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $163.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.48 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 62.98%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It 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, and SK-II brands.