Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Takes Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $183,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PG. Emerald Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schear Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $158.14. The stock had a trading volume of 12,034,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,329,782. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $163.14. The firm has a market cap of $372.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.44. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.92.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,097,637.96. 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. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.53.

About Procter & Gamble

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.