W Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

W Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,127 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. W Advisors LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Stewardship LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $241,000. Warner Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Warner Financial Inc. now owns 2,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 29,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,933,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.8% during 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 last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $1,548,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’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 value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade 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 valued at $25,635,076 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG opened at $166.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $391.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $168.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 32.88%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.17%.

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.