The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s 8th Largest Position

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,114 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,145 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises 3.2% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $14,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dfpg Investments LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 24,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,680,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.3% in the third quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 14.6% during the third quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 94,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 12,016 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,003,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,298,184,000 after purchasing an additional 131,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 105.5% during the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 59,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,699,000 after buying an additional 30,473 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total value of $4,581,309.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,865 shares of company stock worth $16,029,280 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $161.24 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.51. The company has a market cap of $380.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $141.45 and a fifty-two week high of $164.32.

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

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.76.

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.