Boston Research & Management Inc. Grows Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Boston Research & Management Inc. raised its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,835 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 64 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 1.8% of Boston Research & Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 64.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG opened at $174.22 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $170.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $177.94. The company has a market capitalization of $411.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.22, for a total transaction of $76,149.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,043.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total value of $1,458,045.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 375,553 shares of company stock valued at $63,829,141. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PG has been the topic of several recent research reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $182.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.16.

About Procter & Gamble

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.