Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

Key Points

• Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 946.2% in Q4, adding 10,247 shares to hold 11,330 shares worth about $1.62 million.
• Procter & Gamble reported quarterly EPS of $1.88 (beating estimates by $0.02) on $22.21 billion in revenue, and pays a quarterly dividend of $1.0568 (annualized $4.23) for a ~3.0% yield.
• Insiders sold a total of 348,618 shares (~$55.5 million) during the last quarter, while analysts hold a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $167.06.

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 946.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,330 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,247 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $142.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $331.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.41. Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $137.62 and a 1 year high of $171.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.46.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 32.21%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 36,093 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.33, for a total value of $5,858,976.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 34,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,680,576.02. This trade represents a 50.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 1,809 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total transaction of $288,463.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,818,083.90. The trade was a 5.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 348,618 shares of company stock valued at $55,462,643 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $142.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $157.00 to $165.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $167.06.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.