Somerset Trust Co Grows Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Somerset Trust Co grew its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 20,134 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 742 shares during the quarter. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $3,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Costello Asset Management INC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the second quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $338,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,110. The trade was a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:PG opened at $161.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.38. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $146.28 and a one year high of $180.43. The firm has a market cap of $379.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $163.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.65.

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.