Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. Purchases Shares of 2,300 The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $398,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acorn Creek Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the first quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.1% during the second quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the third quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 3,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock opened at $171.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $171.77 and its 200-day moving average is $167.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $404.24 billion, a PE ratio of 27.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $142.50 and a 1 year high of $177.94.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. The business 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 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PG shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $159.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,451.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $16,320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,332,570. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 383,194 shares of company stock valued at $65,140,718. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, SK-II, and Native brands.