Investment Partners LTD. Increases Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Investment Partners LTD. increased its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 27.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,866 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the quarter. Investment Partners LTD.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 7,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $1,190,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 473,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,393,000 after buying an additional 119,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC now owns 12,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,873,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $161.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,659,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,820,118. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.51. 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $164.32.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. 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. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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.