Willis Investment Counsel Has $26.81 Million Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Willis Investment Counsel grew its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 77.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 157,290 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,750 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 1.8% of Willis Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $26,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Trust lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Trust now owns 4,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 15,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,614,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 205,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,061,000 after acquiring an additional 12,449 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 1,166,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,866,000 after acquiring an additional 28,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 464,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,165,000 after acquiring an additional 4,493 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total transaction of $161,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,995,627.94. This trade represents a 29.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG opened at $163.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $163.70 and a 200-day moving average of $166.95. The company has a market cap of $382.39 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $156.58 and a one year high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on Procter & Gamble and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 target price on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Redburn Atlantic lowered Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.86.

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.