Welch & Forbes LLC Has $117.32 Million Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 800,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,396 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 1.8% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $117,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 636.6% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,483.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total transaction of $5,049,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,483.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,865 shares of company stock worth $14,059,180 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PG. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $164.44. The company had a trading volume of 5,470,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,902,192. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $164.98. The firm has a market cap of $388.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.37.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.