Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Buys 5,746 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 448,981 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,746 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $75,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 95.3% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total transaction of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 64,520 shares of company stock valued at $10,999,268 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.52.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG traded down $2.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $158.60. 4,048,909 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,190,314. The company has a market cap of $371.84 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $156.58 and a twelve month high of $180.43. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

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.