National Pension Service Raises Stock Holdings in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

National Pension Service raised its position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,533,281 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 228,204 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises approximately 0.7% of National Pension Service’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. National Pension Service owned 0.19% of Procter & Gamble worth $760,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PG. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Procter & Gamble in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Procter & Gamble by 972.0% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Trading Up 1.3 %

PG opened at $172.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $166.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.46. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $404.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on PG shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.42.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.