Rockland Trust Co. Acquires 3,689 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 193,283 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,689 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up about 1.6% of Rockland Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $32,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Costello Asset Management INC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $338,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,110. This trade represents a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total value of $2,163,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. This represents a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $159.75 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $169.40 and its 200 day moving average is $169.52. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $146.28 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $376.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 69.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.75.

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.