Empowered Funds LLC Increases Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 161,933 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,942 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises about 0.4% of Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $27,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PG. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased 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 valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $167.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $167.30 and a 200 day moving average of $169.40.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

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

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.