Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 63.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 221,319 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 85,642 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $34,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PG. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 655,209.0% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 76,028,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,832,680,000 after buying an additional 76,017,350 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,099,644,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 15,971.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,012,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,270,000 after acquiring an additional 6,969,110 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 233,211,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,155,222,000 after acquiring an additional 3,189,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 21.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,374,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,608,785,000 after purchasing an additional 2,880,895 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CAO Matthew W. Janzaruk sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.57, for a total transaction of $108,438.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $146,429.03. The trade was a 42.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG opened at $141.77 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $145.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $138.14 and a twelve month high of $179.99. The company has a market capitalization of $331.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.39.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $22.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.23 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.74% and a return on equity of 32.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.830-7.100 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 24th. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. Dbs Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays cut their price target on Procter & Gamble from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $156.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.38.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.