The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Stake Boosted by Demars Financial Group LLC

Demars Financial Group LLC raised its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,497 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 63 shares during the quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $219,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 636.6% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 206.6% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the sale, the insider now owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,097,637.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 279,918 shares of company stock worth $43,323,263. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.7 %

PG traded up $1.16 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $161.70. The company had a trading volume of 3,444,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,911,960. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $163.14. The company has a market cap of $380.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.13.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.77% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PG. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.88.

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.