Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Cuts Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lessened its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,466 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,011 shares during the quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,812,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 11.2% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Tevis Investment Management boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PG shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.42.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:PG opened at $173.84 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $166.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.54. The company has a market cap of $407.63 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble 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.