First Merchants Corp Has $9.91 Million Position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

First Merchants Corp boosted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,180 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,547 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $9,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 15,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.28, for a total transaction of $2,461,625.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 44,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,259,595.80. This represents a 25.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 1,809 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total transaction of $288,463.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,215 shares in the company, valued at $4,818,083.90. The trade was a 5.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 348,618 shares of company stock valued at $55,462,643 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

PG opened at $143.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $334.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $154.01 and a 200-day moving average of $150.36. Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $137.62 and a 52-week high of $174.80.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. 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 return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on PG. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $177.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.33.

Procter & Gamble 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.