Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Increases Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 147,268 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for about 0.8% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $24,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,300,000 after purchasing an additional 4,035 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth $569,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,898,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,583,000 after purchasing an additional 201,695 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 185,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,065,000 after acquiring an additional 6,077 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of PG opened at $167.99 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $167.30 and a 200-day moving average of $169.40.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

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.