First Merchants Corp Acquires 8,547 Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

First Merchants Corp grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,180 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,547 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $9,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,827 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $2,056,296.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,026,158.09. This trade represents a 50.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 95,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.15, for a total transaction of $14,495,738.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 182,607 shares in the company, valued at $27,601,048.05. This represents a 34.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 348,618 shares of company stock valued at $55,462,643. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of PG opened at $143.80 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $154.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.36. The stock has a market cap of $334.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.37. Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $137.62 and a 12 month high of $174.80.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.The company had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were given a $1.0568 dividend. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 62.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $157.00 to $165.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.