Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $67.44 Million Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 402,571 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 87,671 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $67,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PG. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,503,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,432,000 after acquiring an additional 56,583 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,734,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,031,000 after buying an additional 608,168 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 3,831.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,505,000 after purchasing an additional 8,467 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG opened at $167.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $167.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.78. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 1-year low of $153.52 and a 1-year high of $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

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

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $1.0065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.47.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,274.66. This represents a 44.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total transaction of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 172,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,313,845.76. This trade represents a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock valued at $23,988,008 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

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.