Meritage Portfolio Management Has $7.68 Million Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 703.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 52,423 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,902 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cardinal Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 48,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,073,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.5% during the third quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,460,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 21.3% in the third quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 5,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 42,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,180,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Finally, Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 9,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,865 shares of company stock worth $16,029,280. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of PG stock traded down $1.15 on Friday, hitting $161.40. 2,600,571 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,917,720. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $164.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $159.57 and a 200 day moving average of $153.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.85%.

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.