The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Stake Boosted by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC grew its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 333,073 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,925 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up 2.5% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $55,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 40,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,717,000 after buying an additional 13,617 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,049,000. Northwest Financial Advisors lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwest Financial Advisors now owns 5,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,548,000. Finally, Altus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,562,000 after purchasing an additional 4,109 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE PG opened at $168.53 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.36. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $156.58 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $395.12 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price target on Procter & Gamble and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. The trade was a 29.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.