Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 176 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,531 shares of the company’s stock after selling 176 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 636.6% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $164.46. 5,577,808 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,918,823. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $164.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.04.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.69%.

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.