Advantage Trust Co Takes Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Shariaportfolio Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $968,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 15,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after buying an additional 2,813 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.0% in the third quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 10,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.1% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 51,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,546,000 after acquiring an additional 2,981 shares during the period. Finally, Keating Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 73.7% in the third quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 21,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.98, for a total value of $3,528,592.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,080,172.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,112 shares of company stock worth $22,841,321. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded up $1.00 during trading on Thursday, reaching $166.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,670,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,846,383. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $160.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.57. The company has a market capitalization of $391.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $166.37.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.69%.

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.