Meridian Financial Partners LLC Invests $2.04 Million in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Meridian Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,042,000. Procter & Gamble makes up about 1.2% of Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,956,117,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 114.9% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,568,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $579,017,000 after buying an additional 1,907,716 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter valued at $233,788,000. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter worth $228,212,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,492,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,390,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387,539 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,179,061.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,313 shares of company stock valued at $19,703,643 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective for the company. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.95.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $167.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,640,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,674,588. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $171.72. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.26. The firm has a market capitalization 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 data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 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 company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.69%.

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.