The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Stock Position Lifted by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,719 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,664 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PG. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total transaction of $5,049,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,483.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of PG traded up $0.62 on Friday, reaching $164.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,581,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,941,715. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $164.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $160.01 and a 200-day moving average of $154.17.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.