Peak Financial Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Peak Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,455 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Peak Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,104,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,645,072,000 after buying an additional 817,674 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 46,754,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,936,343,000 after acquiring an additional 510,559 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,320,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,717,246,000 after acquiring an additional 4,959,527 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 96,526.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,535,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,840,449,000 after acquiring an additional 38,495,676 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,193,916,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047,557 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.41.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

PG stock opened at $162.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $381.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.16. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $163.14.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.48 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 19th were given a $0.9407 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at $25,097,637.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,160.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.