Stonegate Investment Group LLC Buys 1,278 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 354,819 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 1.8% of Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $57,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sutton Place Investors LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 102.9% in the 1st quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC now owns 23,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,878,000 after purchasing an additional 12,121 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 76,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,386,000 after acquiring an additional 4,614 shares in the last quarter. Gray Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter worth approximately $247,000. Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 19,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,142,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compound Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,498,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total value of $135,517.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,865 shares of company stock worth $9,009,280 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of PG traded up $1.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $163.24. The stock had a trading volume of 8,105,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,942,727. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $141.45 and a 52 week high of $164.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.82 and a 200 day moving average of $153.91. The company has a market cap of $385.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.44.

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 net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given 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 2.47%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PG. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.