Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,307 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,812,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Tevis Investment Management grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG stock opened at $167.94 on Monday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The firm has a market cap of $393.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.01%.

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.