Howard Financial Services LTD. Purchases 869 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 63.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,247 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 19,030.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,693,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $639,730,000 after buying an additional 3,674,286 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth about $301,950,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,016,000 after buying an additional 1,466,115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,110. This represents a 12.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PG opened at $161.35 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.38. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $146.28 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $379.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.48%.

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.