Hennessy Advisors Inc. Purchases 10,250 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 30.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,250 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,250 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PG. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.5% during 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. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $569,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,898,569 shares of the company's stock worth $484,583,000 after purchasing an additional 201,695 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE:PG traded up $0.85 on Friday, hitting $161.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,218,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,628,331. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $146.28 and a one year high of $180.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $169.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 69.48%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $338,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,110. This represents a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.