ZEGA Investments LLC Invests $769,000 in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

ZEGA Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PG. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 95.3% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 65.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Procter & Gamble Stock Performance

NYSE PG opened at $166.60 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.72. 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 Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $153.52 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The company has a market capitalization of $390.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $1.0065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $4.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is presently 64.01%.

Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble

In related news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 90,450 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 172,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,313,845.76. The trade was a 34.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 18,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.66, for a total transaction of $3,089,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,274.66. The trade was a 44.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $23,988,008. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.47.

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.