Bellecapital International Ltd. Raises Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,638 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for approximately 1.8% of Bellecapital International Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $8,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,567,556,000 after acquiring an additional 122,190 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 8.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,691,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,598,510,000 after purchasing an additional 733,440 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,161,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $999,705,000 after buying an additional 545,601 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,008,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,914,000 after buying an additional 79,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,706,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $941,066,000 after buying an additional 216,300 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 target price for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.26.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG stock traded down $2.69 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $168.59. 1,565,331 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,666,557. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $171.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.24. The Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $142.50 and a fifty-two week high of $177.94. The firm has a market cap of $397.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.69%.

Insider Activity at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,451.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 37,240 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.89, for a total value of $6,289,463.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 263,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,508,763.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 383,194 shares of company stock valued at $65,140,718. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company 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, SK-II, and Native brands.