Meritage Portfolio Management Has $7.68 Million Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 703.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,423 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,902 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 206.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.7 %

PG stock traded down $1.15 on Friday, reaching $161.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,600,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,917,720. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.39. The firm has a market cap of $380.93 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $164.32.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. 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. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Argus raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $151,788. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,865 shares of company stock valued at $16,029,280 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.