Boston Partners Acquires 314,807 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1,049.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 344,800 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 314,807 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $57,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 236,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,818 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at about $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter valued at about $569,000. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 123,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.47.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $168.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $395.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $167.71 and a 200-day moving average of $169.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

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.