The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 40,876 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,000,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,876 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.08% of Procter & Gamble worth $346,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $29,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. The trade was a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 7,007 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $1,202,751.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 269,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,203,373.80. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,473 shares of company stock valued at $12,313,697. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $177.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $417.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $170.04 and its 200 day moving average is $168.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $142.50 and a fifty-two week high of $178.82.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 69.31%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.