FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Sells 142 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH decreased its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,603 shares of the company’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC increased 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 valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp increased 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 valued at $2,372,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC increased 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 valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $162.95. 1,444,408 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,564,460. The firm has a market capitalization of $384.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $169.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $165.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,179,061.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.50, for a total transaction of $135,517.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock valued at $25,413,051 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.72.

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.