Weiss Asset Management LP Purchases New Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 214,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,151,000. Procter & Gamble makes up 0.9% of Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,556,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,599,554,000 after acquiring an additional 689,282 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,632,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,567,556,000 after purchasing an additional 122,190 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,380,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,522,000 after purchasing an additional 830,476 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,422,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,844,442,000 after buying an additional 105,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 3.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 14,049,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,433,400,000 after buying an additional 426,409 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.65, for a total value of $108,826.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,319,882.65. The trade was a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,189,463.68. This represents a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,080 shares of company stock worth $14,629,038 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $176.07 on Friday. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $142.50 and a 12 month high of $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.34.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised shares of Procter & Gamble from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $160.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays cut Procter & Gamble from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $163.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Procter & Gamble currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.45.

Procter & Gamble Company 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.