The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) Shares Purchased by Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 41,074 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble comprises 3.3% of Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $6,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter worth about $1,010,685,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 7.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,204,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,538,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619,466 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 1,195.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,222,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973,757 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,988,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,290,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,214 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth about $301,950,000. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Procter & Gamble

In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.68, for a total transaction of $6,078,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at $3,829,817.68. This trade represents a 61.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.84, for a total value of $14,819,328.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. This represents a 34.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $176.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $166.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.77. The Procter & Gamble Company has a one year low of $153.52 and a one year high of $180.43. The firm has a market cap of $412.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.66 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. 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. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $186.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.11.

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.