Kovack Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lowered its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,673 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,367 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Callan Capital LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 4,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 26,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,897,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 98,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,475,000 after buying an additional 8,010 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 4,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, TAP Consulting LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. TAP Consulting LLC now owns 5,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,788. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:PG traded down $1.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $161.24. 5,659,643 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,957,020. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $159.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.51. The company has a market cap of $380.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $164.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PG. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

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.