Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Buys 9,719 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 26.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,961 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,719 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PG. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 19,030.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,693,593 shares of the company's stock worth $639,730,000 after acquiring an additional 3,674,286 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter valued at $301,950,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 416.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,818,490 shares of the company's stock worth $315,016,000 after buying an additional 1,466,115 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.5 %

PG stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $161.35. The stock had a trading volume of 7,218,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,628,331. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $169.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.46. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $146.28 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $379.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The firm's revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $338,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,110. This trade represents a 12.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.99, for a total transaction of $2,163,072.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,954,538.34. The trade was a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $163.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $179.65.

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.