Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,217 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the period. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.5 %

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $165.34 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.46. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $387.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.17%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.