Sovran Advisors LLC Invests $736,000 in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Acorn Creek Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the third quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 11.2% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $169.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.52 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $153.52 and a 52-week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.