ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Grows Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 112,120 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 2.4% of ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $16,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Provence Wealth Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 5,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $802,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,511,000. W Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 5,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $825,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 115,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,910,000 after acquiring an additional 12,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 77,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,414,000 after acquiring an additional 4,927 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PG. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total value of $5,049,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,483.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of PG traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $164.46. 5,581,692 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,941,715. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $164.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.17. 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 $388.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.