Vertex Planning Partners LLC Increases Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC grew its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,963 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,818 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at approximately $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $569,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,568 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.82.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE PG opened at $168.85 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.46. The company has a market capitalization of $395.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.