Everence Capital Management Inc. Has $13.80 Million Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 41.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 94,176 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,420 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises about 1.0% of Everence Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $13,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Watchman Group Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 18,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.53.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $156.24. 3,161,367 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,811,708. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $163.14. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $367.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.48 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is 62.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total value of $122,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.