Howard Capital Management Group LLC Purchases 100 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,427 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1,135.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 20,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 19,013 shares in the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.1% during the second quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 23,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,114 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 67,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,145,000 after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 33,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,478,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.0% during the second quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $163.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.65.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of PG stock opened at $164.57 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $152.06 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $387.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.