Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Grows Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,328 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,813 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $12,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 5,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,367 shares in the last quarter. HS Management Partners LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 231,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,819,000 after buying an additional 91,770 shares in the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 401.0% in the 4th quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 8,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 6,865 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $1,010,685,000. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 41,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,975,000 after purchasing an additional 3,784 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $174.83 on Thursday. 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 fifty day moving average of $166.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.69. The company has a market capitalization of $409.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 3.76 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.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $21.88 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

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.