Merit Financial Group LLC Has $18.88 Million Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 6.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,788 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,951 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $18,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $5,244,463,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 20,758.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,951,456 shares of the company's stock worth $1,355,087,000 after buying an additional 7,913,335 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,010,685,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $580,596,000 after buying an additional 2,973,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,398,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,240,294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,846,560 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the company'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 value of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.86.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.7%

Procter & Gamble stock traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $164.01. 5,692,762 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,323,998. The firm has a market capitalization of $384.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.58 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The firm's 50 day moving average is $164.01 and its 200-day moving average is $167.27.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 66.98%.

Procter & Gamble 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.