Welch Group LLC Raises Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Welch Group LLC increased its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 333,073 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,925 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 2.5% of Welch Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $55,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 40,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,717,000 after buying an additional 13,617 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $50,049,000. Northwest Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwest Financial Advisors now owns 5,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,548,000. Finally, Altus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,562,000 after purchasing an additional 4,109 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on Procter & Gamble and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.52.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the 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 insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PG traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $169.92. 12,584,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,308,668. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $398.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $164.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.39. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $156.58 and a 52 week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is currently 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.