Baron Wealth Management LLC Grows Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,292 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 0.5% of Baron Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Costello Asset Management INC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 138.7% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG opened at $167.43 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $168.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $392.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

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.