Verum Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Verum Partners LLC boosted its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,070 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Buckley Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,615,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 86,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 55,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,075,000 after buying an additional 1,689 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $162.47. The stock had a trading volume of 3,422,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,844,717. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $382.30 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $163.14.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 19th were issued a $0.9407 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 62.98%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $149,160.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.41.

Procter & Gamble 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.