White Pine Capital LLC Sells 985 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

White Pine Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,831 shares of the company’s stock after selling 985 shares during the quarter. White Pine Capital LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Partners LTD. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 10,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 7,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,190,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 473,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,393,000 after buying an additional 119,406 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 100,865 shares of company stock worth $16,029,280. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG traded down $1.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $161.29. 5,659,784 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,820,118. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $164.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average of $159.64 and a 200-day moving average of $153.51.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.85%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.