Alley Investment Management Company LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,596 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,071 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $10,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after buying an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after purchasing an additional 689,282 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,133,850,000 after purchasing an additional 312,203 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,881,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,830,252,000 after purchasing an additional 459,437 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PG. Barclays upped 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. DA Davidson reaffirmed 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 reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Seven investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.11.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:PG opened at $175.50 on Tuesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $166.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.61. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $411.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its 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. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

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.