Certuity LLC Acquires 784 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Certuity LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,409 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PG. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 972.0% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE PG opened at $169.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $397.52 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $167.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

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.