30,781 Shares in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Acquired by HTLF Bank

HTLF Bank acquired a new stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 30,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,511,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PG. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 5.7% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 18,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the first quarter worth about $3,073,000. Finally, Wsfs Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 12.0% during the first quarter. Wsfs Capital Management LLC now owns 4,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 279,063 shares of company stock valued at $43,187,745 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PG traded down $1.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $155.99. 4,395,452 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,828,502. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $159.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.64. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $163.14. The company has a market cap of $367.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 34.04% and a net margin of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PG. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.53.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.