J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Purchases 12,334 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,093 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,334 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Schear Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PG. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the sale, the insider now owns 163,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,097,637.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $149,160.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PG stock traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $158.02. The stock had a trading volume of 12,028,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,932,996. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $159.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.92. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $163.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $371.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 67.34%.

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.