Beaton Management Co. Inc. Has $4.26 Million Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Beaton Management Co. Inc. reduced its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,040 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,917 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble accounts for 2.5% of Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $4,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 16,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG traded down $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $167.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,535,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,695,690. 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 one year low of $141.45 and a one year high of $168.54. The firm has a market cap of $396.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.70.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,256.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 181,185 shares of company stock worth $29,705,503 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.