The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Acquired by Ewa LLC

Ewa LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,040 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Ewa LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PG. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the third quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chemistry Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,865 shares of company stock valued at $9,009,280. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of PG stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $161.11. 2,680,353 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,902,852. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $159.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $380.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.44. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $141.45 and a 12 month high of $164.32.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.