Bell Bank Buys 234 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Bell Bank grew its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,122 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 234 shares during the quarter. Bell Bank’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PG. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after buying an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth $301,950,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,016,000 after buying an additional 1,466,115 shares during the period. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4,621.9% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,285,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,722,000 after buying an additional 1,258,690 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $170.17 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $399.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.17%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.