The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,566,732 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,675 shares during the period. Procter & Gamble makes up approximately 0.7% of National Pension Service’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. National Pension Service owned 0.15% of Procter & Gamble worth $522,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PG. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 22.0% in the third quarter. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV now owns 2,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 2.9% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 27,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,992,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 29,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,285,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Eukles Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 9,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after acquiring an additional 3,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortune Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,885,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total value of $620,719.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,908,891.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 28,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.49, for a total transaction of $4,581,309.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,265.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,112 shares of company stock valued at $22,841,321. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.76.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PG traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $165.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,149,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,806,576. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.49. The company has a market capitalization of $391.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.43. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $166.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.91%. The business had revenue of $20.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.69%.

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.