Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. Purchases 158 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,404 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises about 1.9% of Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $3,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ridgeline Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $581,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 54,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,090,000 after buying an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 41,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,021,000 after buying an additional 11,420 shares during the period. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $493,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock opened at $169.53 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 64.17%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.