The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Purchased by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 35.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 133,651 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,271 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $19,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.3 %

PG traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $163.84. The stock had a trading volume of 5,599,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,933,998. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.97. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $141.45 and a 52 week high of $164.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 86,865 shares of company stock valued at $14,059,180. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.