Bennett Associates Wealth Management Takes Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Bennett Associates Wealth Management acquired a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PG. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,135.1% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 20,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,412,000 after acquiring an additional 19,013 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Cowa LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 8.2% during the second quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.0% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 29,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,784,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 13.2% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 131,962 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,763,000 after buying an additional 15,337 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PG traded up $0.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $161.35. 7,218,206 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,628,331. The stock has a market cap of $379.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $146.28 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $169.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction 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 approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $338,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,110. The trade was a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PG shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, December 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.