Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Acquires 537 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. grew its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,215 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,696,000. Dfpg Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 24,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,680,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Campbell Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Herold Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 26,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,897,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 115,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,858,000 after buying an additional 15,599 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG stock traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $164.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,253,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,088,934. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $169.41. The company has a market cap of $389.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $165.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.81.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The business 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 quarter last year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on PG shares. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total transaction of $5,329,711.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 154,544 shares of company stock worth $25,413,051 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.