Financial Strategies Group Inc. Boosts Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Financial Strategies Group Inc. increased its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 21.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,154 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,585 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 1.1% of Financial Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Financial Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective 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. Argus upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $163.93 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $165.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.01. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $141.45 and a 12 month high of $169.41. The company has a market cap of $386.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.85%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $634,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.