The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,188 shares of the company’s stock after selling 878 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $10,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $169.07 on Thursday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $396.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 64.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble 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.