Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 787,926 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 253.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,098,946 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 787,926 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $190,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 122,190 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 8.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,691,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,598,510,000 after acquiring an additional 733,440 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,005,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,213,403,000 after acquiring an additional 39,000 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,008,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $974,914,000 after purchasing an additional 79,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 5,716,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $990,150,000 after purchasing an additional 72,851 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 87,979 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.40, for a total transaction of $14,991,621.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 300,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,252,400.80. The trade was a 22.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andre Schulten sold 13,041 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $2,216,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,325,360. This trade represents a 25.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 160,693 shares of company stock worth $27,311,345. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG opened at $176.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $142.50 and a twelve month high of $177.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $170.04 and a 200 day moving average of $168.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $415.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.39, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.42.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PG shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.00.

Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.