RiverFront Investment Group LLC Buys Shares of 25,044 The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 25,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,670,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Chemistry Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock traded down $1.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $161.29. The company had a trading volume of 5,659,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,820,118. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $159.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $380.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $164.32.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors 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 yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PG. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $151,788. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,788. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 100,865 shares of company stock worth $16,029,280. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.