WASHINGTON TRUST Co Has $12.75 Million Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 86,980 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,855 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $12,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PG. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 55,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 63,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,240,000 after buying an additional 8,587 shares during the last quarter. Shotwell Rutter Baer Inc bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $219,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $574,000. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 114,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the sale, the insider now owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,160.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at $25,097,637.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $162.34. The stock had a trading volume of 2,844,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,835,724. The firm has a market cap of $381.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $158.17 and a 200 day moving average of $152.09. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $141.45 and a 12 month high of $163.14.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.48 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 19th were issued a $0.9407 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 18th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.41.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.