Appleton Partners Inc. MA Buys 770 Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,116 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $11,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Unique Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.9% in the first quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 2,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the first quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 5,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 20.2% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $789,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 10,520 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 25,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,995,627.94. This represents a 29.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer L. Davis sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.38, for a total value of $161,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,965 shares in the company, valued at $8,386,111.70. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PG. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $200.00 to $181.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.86.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of PG stock opened at $158.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.71. Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $156.58 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $372.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $163.35 and its 200 day moving average is $166.13.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 18.46%. The company had revenue of $19.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. 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 currently 66.98%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.