M Holdings Securities Inc. Raises Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

M Holdings Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 146.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,919 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,201 shares during the period. M Holdings Securities Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,848,000 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 PG. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 95.3% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.3 %

PG stock opened at $169.11 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $168.35 and a 200 day moving average of $168.56. The firm has a market cap of $396.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month 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 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued 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 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.20%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.50.

About Procter & Gamble

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.