Alley Investment Management Company LLC Grows Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,596 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,071 shares during the quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $10,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company's stock worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at $301,950,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 25,115.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,736,857 shares of the company's stock worth $291,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4,621.9% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,285,923 shares of the company's stock worth $222,722,000 after buying an additional 1,258,690 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PG shares. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of PG traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $174.83. 6,472,515 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,334,328. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The firm's fifty day moving average is $166.52 and its 200-day moving average is $169.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $409.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 64.01%.

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.