Clarity Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Clarity Financial LLC grew its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 116,657 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,175 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises 2.3% of Clarity Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $19,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PG. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 103,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,334,000 after buying an additional 2,611 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 321,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,657,000 after acquiring an additional 85,961 shares during the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,879,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on 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 objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $165.98 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $389.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. 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 2.43%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 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.