Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Raises Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,724 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 769 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Acorn Creek Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the third quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 5,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the third quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE PG opened at $169.57 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $399.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 64.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.