Argent Advisors Inc. Has $2.07 Million Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Argent Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,555 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 0.8% of Argent Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,956,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,209,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,552,000 after acquiring an additional 206,165 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,556,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,547,021,000 after acquiring an additional 559,358 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,571,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,402,636,000 after purchasing an additional 246,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 6,987,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,023,949,000 after purchasing an additional 223,798 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE PG traded up $1.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $171.53. 7,301,578 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,572,756. The stock has a market cap of $404.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.93. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $171.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.69%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 37,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.89, for a total transaction of $6,289,463.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,508,763.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 96,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $16,320,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,570. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 37,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.89, for a total transaction of $6,289,463.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,508,763.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 375,553 shares of company stock valued at $63,829,141 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.79.

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.