Howard Financial Services LTD. Has $377,000 Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 63.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during 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. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after acquiring an additional 689,282 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,567,556,000 after acquiring an additional 122,190 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,522,000 after purchasing an additional 830,476 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at $1,954,538.34. The trade was a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.5 %

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $161.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $146.28 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $169.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.38.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.65.

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.