Griffin Asset Management Inc. Has $6.17 Million Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,034 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $6,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PG. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,696,000. Dfpg Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 24,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,680,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Herold Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 26,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 115,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,858,000 after purchasing an additional 15,599 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on PG. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE PG traded down $1.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $164.92. 9,253,317 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,088,934. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.73. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $169.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $389.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.42.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.