The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Purchased by Hilltop Partners LLC

Hilltop Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,675 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,957 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 0.7% of Hilltop Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Hilltop Partners LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sentinel Trust Co. LBA grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Sentinel Trust Co. LBA now owns 37,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,214,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 107,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,970,000 after acquiring an additional 19,873 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 7,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on PG. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.42.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG opened at $172.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $403.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 3.76 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 0.76. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.