Baron Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,292 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up about 0.5% of Baron Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,300,000 after buying an additional 4,035 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $569,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,898,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,583,000 after purchasing an additional 201,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 185,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,065,000 after purchasing an additional 6,077 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $167.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $392.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $168.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.39. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 64.17%.

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.