Berkshire Bank Purchases 465 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Berkshire Bank increased its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,215 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up about 1.3% of Berkshire Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $5,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 138.7% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG stock opened at $166.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $168.83 and a 200 day moving average of $169.42. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52 week low of $153.52 and a 52 week high of $180.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,804.35. This trade represents a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 151,097 shares of company stock valued at $25,635,076 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PG. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.53.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.