Norges Bank Takes $5.24 Billion Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 31,282,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,244,463,000. Procter & Gamble makes up about 0.7% of Norges Bank's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Norges Bank owned about 1.33% of Procter & Gamble as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PG. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company's stock worth $1,812,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company's stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Tevis Investment Management grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 11,633 shares of the company's stock worth $1,950,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,078 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

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Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of PG traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $167.94. The stock had a trading volume of 5,479,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,889,318. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $168.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.35. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $153.52 and a fifty-two week high of $180.43.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Erste Group Bank raised Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.82.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total value of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.