Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Has $1.15 Million Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. cut its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,830 shares of the company’s stock after selling 609 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PG. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of PG stock opened at $168.96 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $153.52 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $396.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 2.38%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PG shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076. Company 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.