Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Raises Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas lifted its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 262,925 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises 2.5% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $44,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after buying an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after acquiring an additional 689,282 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,522,000 after purchasing an additional 830,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,422,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,844,442,000 after purchasing an additional 105,734 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG opened at $164.41 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $387.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $152.06 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $168.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.37.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21,657,595.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. 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 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 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.