Grove Bank & Trust Increases Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,228 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PG. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG opened at $161.35 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $169.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $146.28 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $379.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,954,538.34. This represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 73,447 shares of company stock valued at $12,978,820. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.