Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC Makes New Investment in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,000. Procter & Gamble comprises about 0.7% of Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 636.6% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $50,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 206.6% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded down $0.73 on Friday, reaching $156.56. 5,394,917 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,842,660. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $141.45 and a 52 week high of $163.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $159.13 and a 200 day moving average of $152.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $368.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the sale, the insider now owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.53.

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.