Athena Investment Management Sells 447 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Athena Investment Management trimmed its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,689 shares of the company’s stock after selling 447 shares during the quarter. Athena Investment Management’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PG. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,016,000 after buying an additional 1,466,115 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,432,000 after buying an additional 56,583 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth $181,000. Finally, Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. now owns 9,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE PG opened at $173.84 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.54. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $407.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 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.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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 reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price 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 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 a consensus price target of $180.42.

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.