Morse Asset Management Inc Reduces Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Morse Asset Management Inc trimmed its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,383 shares of the company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after purchasing an additional 689,282 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,567,556,000 after buying an additional 122,190 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,522,000 after purchasing an additional 830,476 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,422,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,844,442,000 after purchasing an additional 105,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 14,049,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,433,400,000 after acquiring an additional 426,409 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PG. Barclays lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 7,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $1,202,751.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 269,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,203,373.80. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,319,882.65. This trade 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 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 2.4 %

NYSE:PG opened at $175.42 on Wednesday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $142.50 and a 12-month high of $180.43. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.25. The firm has a market cap of $413.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.31%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.