BLB&B Advisors LLC Has $19.36 Million Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

BLB&B Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 115,480 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,654 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for 1.0% of BLB&B Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $19,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value 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 trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $167.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $393.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $167.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 64.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PG. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.