The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Stock Position Increased by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 226,874 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,852 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $37,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 9,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 8,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $2,168,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth about $437,000. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 112,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,547,000 after acquiring an additional 12,622 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total transaction of $12,342,475.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,002,649.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 116,313 shares of company stock valued at $19,703,643. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $167.89. The company had a trading volume of 5,640,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,674,588. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.22. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $171.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $396.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 65.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on PG. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $182.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.95.

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.