Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,964 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PG. Palisade Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,565,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968 shares in the last quarter. Centric Wealth Management raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 8,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,075,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,552,000 after buying an additional 206,165 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on PG shares. Argus upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:PG traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $165.76. 6,374,243 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,896,868. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.49. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $166.04. 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 firm has a market cap of $391.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,724 shares of company stock valued at $19,312,729 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.