Alerus Financial NA Purchases 19,223 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Alerus Financial NA increased its stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 81.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,834 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 19,223 shares during the quarter. Alerus Financial NA's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $7,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,794,073 shares of the company's stock worth $38,524,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,061 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,244,463,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,760,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,692,813 shares of the company's stock worth $3,133,850,000 after buying an additional 312,203 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE PG traded up $1.60 on Monday, hitting $169.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,938,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,874,161. The firm has a market cap of $397.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $153.52 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $168.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.88 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.82.

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.