The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Purchased by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC raised its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 83,499 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 1.6% of Verity & Verity LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $13,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 460,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,524,000 after purchasing an additional 20,096 shares in the last quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC now owns 16,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,443,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 305,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,760,000 after acquiring an additional 180,863 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 150,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,004,000 after acquiring an additional 16,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG opened at $173.07 on Wednesday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $177.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $408.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $171.01 and its 200-day moving average is $166.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays downgraded Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.89.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total value of $12,342,475.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,002,649.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $76,149.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,043.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total value of $12,342,475.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares in the company, valued at $45,002,649.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 375,553 shares of company stock valued at $63,829,141 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.