The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Holdings Boosted by Main Street Research LLC

Main Street Research LLC boosted its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 333,608 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,677 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for 3.9% of Main Street Research LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $48,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 175.9% during the 4th quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC now owns 4,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 2,733 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 20,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,030,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689 shares in the last quarter. First American Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 66.4% during the 4th quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 4,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971 shares in the last quarter. Emfo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Emfo LLC now owns 10,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,497,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.5 %

Procter & Gamble stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $156.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,305,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,801,771. The company has a market capitalization of $367.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $141.45 and a 12 month high of $163.14. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.98%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.53.

Procter & Gamble 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.