Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $23.59 Million Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 145,396 shares of the company’s stock after selling 417 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 0.8% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $23,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PG. StockNews.com raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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. Truist Financial raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.7 %

PG opened at $163.93 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $165.65 and its 200-day moving average is $159.01. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $169.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $386.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,634. 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 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.