The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Bought by Optas LLC

Optas LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,731 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466,115 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 6.6% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 479,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,057,000 after acquiring an additional 29,799 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 35,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,141,000 after acquiring an additional 8,652 shares during the period. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 5.5% in the third quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 8,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 54,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,473,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 151,097 shares of company stock worth $25,635,076. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $168.90 on Tuesday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $396.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.17%.

Procter & Gamble Profile

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.