The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Stock Position Lifted by Harrington Investments INC

Harrington Investments INC boosted its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,617 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Harrington Investments INC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,833,000 after buying an additional 2,179 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,818 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $569,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 three months, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $168.20 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.80. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The firm has a market cap of $394.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.47.

About Procter & Gamble

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.