APG Asset Management N.V. Buys 1,895,421 Shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) by 1,709.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,006,298 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,895,421 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble makes up about 0.9% of APG Asset Management N.V.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. APG Asset Management N.V. owned approximately 0.09% of Procter & Gamble worth $324,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,442,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $820,031,000 after acquiring an additional 608,168 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 5.4% during the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 13,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,333,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total value of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $172.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.50.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded up $3.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $166.96. 8,602,709 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,038,790. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $168.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.62. The stock has a market cap of $391.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.43. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio is 67.20%.

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.