Independence Bank of Kentucky Grows Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,187 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for 1.4% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,179,061.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.72.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock traded down $1.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $164.92. The stock had a trading volume of 9,253,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,088,934. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $165.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.73. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $169.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $389.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.42. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

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.