GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Increases Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,601 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 64.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was 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 directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 125,462 shares of company stock valued at $21,238,114 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Dbs Bank lowered Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.95.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.9 %

Procter & Gamble stock traded up $1.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $168.80. 4,953,783 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,864,465. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $166.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.06. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $171.72. The company has a market cap of $398.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.41. 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 announced its earnings results 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. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.46% and a net margin of 17.71%. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

About Procter & Gamble

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.