Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Has $777,000 Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 20.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,790 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 826 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $777,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG opened at $166.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $393.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, 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 $169.41. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.54.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PG. StockNews.com upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,634. The transaction 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total value of $135,517.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $634,634. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 a total of 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.