Cambridge Trust Co. Increases Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Cambridge Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 291,473 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,360 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 1.8% of Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $42,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PG. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. AMI Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.2% in the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.7% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 18,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC bought a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the first quarter valued at $3,073,000. Finally, Wsfs Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.0% in the first quarter. Wsfs Capital Management LLC now owns 4,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,097,637.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $156.69. 3,821,948 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,810,419. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $163.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $159.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $368.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.53.

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.