State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 866,765 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,058 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up 0.6% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $145,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 972.0% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $162.84 on Monday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $381.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble 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.