The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Bought by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 86.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 211,022 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 97,824 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $34,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dfpg Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 24,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,680,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 6.3% in the third quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Herold Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 26,592 shares of the company's stock worth $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 94,424 shares of the company's stock worth $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 12,016 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,003,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,298,184,000 after purchasing an additional 131,339 shares in the last quarter. 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 mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $164.46. The stock had a trading volume of 5,581,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,941,715. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $164.71. The firm has a market cap of $388.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.43. The business's fifty day moving average is $160.01 and its 200 day moving average is $154.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble's payout ratio is 65.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Procter & Gamble from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,483.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.90, for a total transaction of $5,049,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,483.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by 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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