Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Raises Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 147,268 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for 0.8% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $24,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $167.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $393.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $167.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued 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 net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.17%.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.