WealthTrust Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

WealthTrust Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,972 shares of the company’s stock after selling 383 shares during the period. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alera Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.1% in the second quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 5,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Home Federal Bank of Tennessee boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee now owns 23,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,846,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 37,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.89, for a total transaction of $6,289,463.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 263,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,508,763.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,451.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,553 shares of company stock worth $63,829,141 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.16.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG stock opened at $171.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $170.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.59. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $141.45 and a 12 month high of $177.94. The company has a market capitalization of $404.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.