Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC Takes Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after buying an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at $301,950,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 25,115.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,736,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729,969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4,621.9% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,285,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258,690 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. The trade was a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $173.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $405.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43.

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 net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.11.

Procter & Gamble 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.