First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 61,294 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for 2.1% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $10,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Paladin Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 5,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 90.8% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Panoramic Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,000. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 276.9% during the fourth quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 4,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $167.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $167.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS 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 $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. This represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on PG shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report 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 for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eight 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

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.