West Branch Capital LLC Buys 1,567 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,526 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises 3.2% of West Branch Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $10,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 138.7% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

NYSE PG opened at $166.20 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $152.06 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $168.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.38. 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 firm has a market cap of $391.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21,657,595.49 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors 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 yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PG has been the subject of several research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.