Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 712,543 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,711 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $119,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 933.3% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hoey Investments Inc. raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 95.3% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $158.78 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $156.58 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $167.11 and its 200 day moving average is $167.85. The company has a market cap of $372.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,330,060 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Redburn Atlantic cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.40.

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.