Connors Investor Services Inc. Has $3.52 Million Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Connors Investor Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 115.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,982 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,255 shares during the quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $3,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,031,000 after buying an additional 608,168 shares during the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Invst LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 15,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth $1,632,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG opened at $162.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $380.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $156.58 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $167.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.21. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.79.

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.