The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Acquired by Ghe LLC

Ghe LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,887 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Ghe LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PG. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466,115 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,432,000 after acquiring an additional 56,583 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 85,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.8 %

PG stock opened at $170.17 on Monday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $399.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PG has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

About Procter & Gamble

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.