13,017 Shares in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,045,000. Procter & Gamble makes up 0.6% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,134,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,943,000 after buying an additional 3,159,796 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 9.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,608,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,193,916,000 after buying an additional 3,047,557 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 13,850.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,747,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,601,000 after buying an additional 2,727,685 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 235.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,231,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,475,000 after buying an additional 2,268,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter valued at approximately $246,412,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.88.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:PG traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $161.50. The company had a trading volume of 7,642,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,968,534. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $380.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.13. The Procter & Gamble Company has a twelve month low of $141.45 and a twelve month high of $163.14.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.43 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 33.77%. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Procter & Gamble Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This is a boost from Procter & Gamble’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $149,160.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 74,443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.30, for a total transaction of $11,412,111.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $149,160.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan Street Whaley sold 3,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.60, for a total transaction of $620,719.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,891.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 279,918 shares of company stock worth $43,323,263 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Procter & Gamble

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.