Sonata Capital Group Inc. Decreases Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Sonata Capital Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,059 shares of the company’s stock after selling 78 shares during the quarter. Sonata Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466,115 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 111.1% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 4,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 2,512 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 15.0% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 48,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,349,000 after buying an additional 6,299 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,393,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,344,000 after acquiring an additional 47,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iams Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG opened at $169.53 on Wednesday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $167.06 and its 200-day moving average is $169.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.17%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.