Meridian Wealth Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Meridian Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,536 shares of the company’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Wyrmwood Management LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 636.6% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 206.6% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

PG stock traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $161.29. The company had a trading volume of 5,659,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,820,118. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $380.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.57. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $164.32.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.91% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,865 shares of company stock worth $16,029,280. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by 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.