Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,999 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 636.6% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,859 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $5,253,549.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,605,961.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $5,253,549.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,605,961.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 118,724 shares of company stock valued at $19,312,729. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $165.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,228,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,843,015. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $160.23 and a 200 day moving average of $154.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $166.37.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 2.43%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Argus increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

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.