Earnest Partners LLC Buys Shares of 1,301 The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Earnest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $3,956,117,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,943,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159,796 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13,850.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,747,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727,685 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 114.9% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,568,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907,716 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,492,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,390,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,539 shares during the period. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Shailesh Jejurikar sold 31,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $5,253,549.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 9,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,605,961.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar G. Raman sold 31,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.95, for a total value of $5,329,711.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,179,061.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 94,320 shares of company stock valued at $15,646,323 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Procter & Gamble Trading Down 6.1 %

Shares of PG stock traded down $10.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $159.59. The company had a trading volume of 7,028,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,498,240. The company has a 50 day moving average of $166.46 and a 200 day moving average of $161.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $376.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.41. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $141.45 and a 1-year high of $170.92.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

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.