Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Makes New $1.87 Million Investment in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. bought a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 11,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,874,000. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 1.9% of Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PG. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 416.1% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466,115 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,432,000 after acquiring an additional 56,583 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.9% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 23,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,018,000 after acquiring an additional 1,313 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 4,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

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 sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $171.36 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.47. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $401.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PG. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.42.

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.