Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.8%, adding 31,059 shares to hold 1,718,923 shares valued at about $240.42 million (roughly 0.07% of the company); institutional investors own about 65.77% of PG.
• Multiple analysts (including DBS, UBS and JPMorgan) have upgraded PG, leaving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $168.33.
• P&G reported quarterly EPS of $1.88 (beat by $0.02) on $22.21 billion in revenue and paid a $1.0568 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~2.9%); insiders have sold roughly 348,618 shares (~$55.5 million) over the past three months.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,718,923 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 31,059 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Procter & Gamble worth $240,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Procter & Gamble by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 40,068 shares of the company's stock worth $6,717,000 after purchasing an additional 13,617 shares during the period. Taylor Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Taylor Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Auxano Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 7,315 shares of the company's stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 30,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,809,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Dbs Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $177.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $157.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $144.41 on Monday. Procter & Gamble Company has a 12-month low of $137.62 and a 12-month high of $174.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $335.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock's fifty day moving average is $154.07 and its 200-day moving average is $150.63.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were given a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 5,549 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.29, for a total value of $917,194.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,083.41. This represents a 84.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 15,169 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.28, for a total transaction of $2,461,625.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,259,595.80. This represents a 25.32% 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 three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.

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