Fisher Funds Management LTD Invests $21.56 Million in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 129,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,561,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after buying an additional 3,619,466 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter valued at $301,950,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,466,115 shares during the period. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 4,621.9% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,285,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PG opened at $170.17 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.04 and a 200-day moving average of $169.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $153.52 and a twelve month high of $180.43. The firm has a market cap of $399.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In related news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PG. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

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.