Colonial Trust Co SC Acquires 4,779 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,316 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,779 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble comprises 1.2% of Colonial Trust Co SC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Colonial Trust Co SC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PG. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 27,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,642,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,818 shares during the period. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568 shares during the period. Finally, Natural Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at $2,121,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $159.27 on Wednesday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $156.58 and a 1 year high of $180.43. 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 market cap of $373.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $166.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.79.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.0568 dividend. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.67, for a total value of $1,669,208.40. Following the completion of 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. Insiders sold a total of 64,520 shares of company stock worth $10,999,268 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.52.

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.