Arbor Investment Advisors LLC Grows Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Arbor Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 42.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,375 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the quarter. Arbor Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 206.6% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. G&S Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 12,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,597,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,943,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $890,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.35.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock traded down $0.39 on Friday, hitting $155.45. 925,475 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,794,954. The company has a market capitalization of $365.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s fifty day moving average is $159.38 and its 200 day moving average is $152.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $163.14.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.14. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $21.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.98%.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.