Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Has $17.56 Million Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,249 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,684 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $17,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at $634,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $168.26 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $164.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.42. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $168.97.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

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.