ZEGA Investments LLC bought a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,688 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $769,000.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $3,290,573,000 after buying an additional 1,760,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 25,115.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,736,857 shares of the company's stock worth $291,184,000 after buying an additional 1,729,969 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble
In other Procter & Gamble news, 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 value of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This trade represents a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 have sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.47.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble Stock Down 1.7 %
Procter & Gamble stock traded down $2.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $162.90. 8,365,995 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,476,854. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $153.52 and a 12 month high of $180.43. 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 cap of $381.98 billion, a PE ratio of 25.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.58.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (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 net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Procter & Gamble's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Procter & Gamble's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.01%.
About Procter & Gamble
(
Free Report)
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.
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