James Investment Research Inc. Acquires 15,835 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

James Investment Research Inc. lifted its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,570 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,835 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises about 1.8% of James Investment Research Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $14,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 972.0% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was 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 owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $162.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $381.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $166.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.