Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Acquires 36,877 Shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) $PG

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) by 9.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 417,480 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,877 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $61,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Procter & Gamble during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,862,105,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,216,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,988,999,000 after purchasing an additional 965,461 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth about $3,850,628,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth approximately $2,281,505,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,797,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,704,182,000 after purchasing an additional 300,280 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore raised Procter & Gamble from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $166.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. DZ Bank cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, HSBC cut Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $182.00 to $149.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.57.

Key Stories Impacting Procter & Gamble

Here are the key news stories impacting Procter & Gamble this week:

• Positive Sentiment: P&G has raised its dividend for 70 consecutive years, a track record that supports its appeal to income-focused investors. Article: Procter & Gamble dividend history
• Neutral Sentiment: The company closed a €3.25 billion euro-note offering. The financing provides capital but adds debt obligations; the available report does not specify how the proceeds will be used. Article: Euro note offering
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts note that rising costs and shoppers’ focus on value could make it harder for P&G to sustain growth in premium brands, despite strong loyalty and innovation. Article: Premium brands in a value-seeking market
• Negative Sentiment: Several executives and the chief accounting officer reported share sales. Such transactions can add near-term concern, though insider sales alone do not establish a negative outlook. SEC filing: Insider transaction

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Matthew W. Janzaruk sold 9,479 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,545,077.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,173. The trade was a 88.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.09, for a total transaction of $5,708,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,033,718.19. This represents a 38.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 128,085 shares of company stock valued at $20,696,098 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $161.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.12. The company has a market cap of $375.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Procter & Gamble Company has a 1 year low of $137.62 and a 1 year high of $167.25.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.11. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 31.02% and a net margin of 18.23%. The firm had revenue of $23.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.99 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Friday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.0885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 65.51%.

Procter & Gamble Profile

Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) is a global consumer products company that develops, manufactures and markets branded products used in households and personal care. Its portfolio includes personal health and grooming products, beauty and skin care items, baby, feminine and family care products, fabric and home care products, and oral care products.

The company’s well-known brands include Pampers, Tide, Gillette, Crest, Oral-B, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Olay, Old Spice, Dawn, Febreze and Mr.