Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 2,604 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 144,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,604 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 0.8% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $24,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 20.2% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the first quarter worth $9,302,000. Goldstone Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the first quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 5.6% during the first quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 48,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607 shares during the period. Finally, RTD Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the first quarter worth $204,000. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 51,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,386,111.70. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,995,627.94. The trade was a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 1.9%

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $160.06 on Friday. 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 $163.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.82. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $156.58 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $375.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Redburn Partners set a $161.00 target price on Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has a consensus 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.