The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Sold by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,540 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,462 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $9,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PG. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 636.6% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PG traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $164.46. The stock had a trading volume of 5,577,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,918,823. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.04. The firm has a market cap of $388.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $164.71.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The company's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total transaction of $5,049,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,586,483.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.

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