Avalon Capital Management Boosts Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Avalon Capital Management increased its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 54.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,435 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Avalon Capital Management’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alera Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the first quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 5,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $925,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Home Federal Bank of Tennessee boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.3% during the second quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee now owns 23,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,846,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PG. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 target price for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.95.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE PG traded down $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $169.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,763,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,597,829. The firm has a market capitalization of $399.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $171.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $167.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.54.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.85%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total value of $12,342,475.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares in the company, valued at $45,002,649.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $16,320,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,570. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total value of $12,342,475.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,002,649.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 223,259 shares of company stock worth $37,948,393. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.