The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Acquired by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC increased its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 326,148 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,278 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 2.5% of Welch Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $54,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,300,000 after acquiring an additional 4,035 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth about $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $569,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,898,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,583,000 after buying an additional 201,695 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 185,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,065,000 after buying an additional 6,077 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of PG stock opened at $168.16 on Wednesday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $394.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $168.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.17%.

Procter & Gamble 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.