Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,015 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,599,554,000 after buying an additional 689,282 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,183,522,000 after purchasing an additional 830,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 105,734 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE:PG opened at $167.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $167.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.40. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The firm has a market cap of $393.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised 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 increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 in the last three months. 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.