South Dakota Investment Council Buys 10,338 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

South Dakota Investment Council lifted its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,729 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,338 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $6,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after acquiring an additional 689,282 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,522,000 after acquiring an additional 830,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,422,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,844,442,000 after acquiring an additional 105,734 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $170.17 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $166.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.45. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $153.52 and a 1 year high of $180.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $399.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on PG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Barclays increased their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.53.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total value 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 $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.