Groupama Asset Managment Raises Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 319,165 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,213 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $53,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,244,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $580,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,757 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company's stock worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PG shares. 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 note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.82.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.1 %

PG stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $170.61. The company had a trading volume of 7,020,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,911,949. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.27. 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 company has a market capitalization of $400.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.01%.

Procter & Gamble 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.