New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 58,397 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,261,927 shares of the company’s stock after selling 58,397 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises 0.7% of New York State Common Retirement Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $546,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Callahan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 93,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,714,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 96,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,138,000 after purchasing an additional 26,563 shares during the period. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. now owns 73,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,271,000 after purchasing an additional 6,489 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 54,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,150,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the period. Finally, Buckingham Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,983,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG stock opened at $165.34 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $387.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $166.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.46.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.17%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.