Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 8,479 The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PG. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,818 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth approximately $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $569,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on Procter & Gamble and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.79.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $161.04 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $168.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.32. The firm has a market cap of $377.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $156.58 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.03). Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $19.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.0568 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble 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.