Gradient Investments LLC Purchases 16,921 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 234,791 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,921 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $39,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Costello Asset Management INC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 138.7% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE PG opened at $164.41 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $152.06 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $168.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.34. The stock has a market cap of $387.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 32.88%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Profile

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.