Rathbones Group PLC Purchases 87,615 Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

Rathbones Group PLC raised its position in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,499,627 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 87,615 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $214,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 234,630,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,050,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,322 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 100,634,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,462,541,000 after buying an additional 370,872 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,850,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,510,955,000 after buying an additional 1,752,481 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 16,556,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,543,839,000 after buying an additional 189,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,008,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,691,449,000 after acquiring an additional 40,941 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Procter & Gamble stock opened at $143.06 on Monday. Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $137.62 and a fifty-two week high of $174.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $153.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.56. The stock has a market cap of $332.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Moses Victor Javier Aguilar sold 15,169 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.28, for a total transaction of $2,461,625.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,735 shares in the company, valued at $7,259,595.80. This trade represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 36,093 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.33, for a total transaction of $5,858,976.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,994 shares in the company, valued at $5,680,576.02. This trade represents a 50.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 348,618 shares of company stock worth $55,462,643 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $177.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, January 16th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $164.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.06.

Procter & Gamble Profile

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.