Gries Financial LLC Boosts Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Gries Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 728.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,900 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,896 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 0.8% of Gries Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 64.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.21.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $171.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,372,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,692,838. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $142.50 and a 52-week high of $177.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $171.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $404.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 66.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 3,373 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $573,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 21,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,657,210. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 383,194 shares of company stock worth $65,140,718. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.