Rakuten Securities Inc. Acquires New Position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PG. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $2,168,000. Sfmg LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 8,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 9,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,978,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble during the fourth quarter worth about $6,093,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $15,618,683.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total value of $11,412,111.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,160.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 101,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $15,618,683.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 163,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,097,637.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $169.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.53.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of PG traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $155.95. 6,103,296 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,114,070. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.77. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $163.14. The company has a market cap of $366.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.44.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. The firm had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.98%.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

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.