Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Trims Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. lowered its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 42.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,052 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,758 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises about 1.6% of Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $2,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Costello Asset Management INC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the third 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 period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $338,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,110. The trade was a 12.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PG. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.65.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:PG opened at $161.35 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $379.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.42. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $146.28 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.31%.

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.