Avanza Fonder AB Purchases Shares of 249,749 The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 249,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,870,000. Procter & Gamble comprises about 1.3% of Avanza Fonder AB's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.5% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 94,109 shares of the company's stock worth $16,300,000 after buying an additional 4,035 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth $668,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth $569,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.4% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 185,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,065,000 after acquiring an additional 6,077 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,898,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $484,583,000 after acquiring an additional 201,695 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on PG. Barclays cut their target price on Procter & Gamble from $163.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a "hold" 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 note on Friday, October 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, December 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $196.00 to $189.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. This trade represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 1,992 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $338,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,110. This trade represents a 12.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,439 shares of company stock valued at $13,317,460 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PG traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $161.35. 7,218,206 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,628,331. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock's 50-day moving average is $169.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.42. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $146.28 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $379.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 17.07%. The business's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

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

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.