Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Purchases 3,774 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 36,231 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,774 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $6,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after buying an additional 689,282 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,567,556,000 after buying an additional 122,190 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,183,522,000 after acquiring an additional 830,476 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total value of $2,163,072.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at $1,954,538.34. The trade was a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value of $8,604,804.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PG. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays downgraded Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, December 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.05.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $160.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $378.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $146.28 and a 1-year high of $180.43.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.48%.

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.