Vest Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 276,596 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,232 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up about 1.1% of Vest Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $45,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 64.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PG shares. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.79.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG opened at $173.88 on Thursday. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $177.94. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $169.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.01. The firm has a market cap of $410.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 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 directly owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 3,373 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $573,410.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 21,513 shares in the company, valued at $3,657,210. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 375,553 shares of company stock valued at $63,829,141 in the last 90 days. 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.